Shape Shifter
by Dragon Country
Summary: Isamu Kaizen is born into a nearly extinct clan, he soon learns that his family has the ability to shift their physical selves into any form they wish, because of this power they must keep their existence a secret. But Isamu has his own secret, he is from our world, born only knowing liberty; can Isamu learn to live under a despot or will he rise and change the world? Male SI OC
1. Doubts and Denial

**Shape Shifter**

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 **This is my first attempt to get back into writing after years of absence, let me know what you all think about it.**

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 **I don't own Naruto, Naruto is the property of Kishimoto Masashi and is not my intellectual property. There is no financial gain made from this nor will any be sought. This is for entertainment purposes only.**

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Doubts and Denial

A vast and endless ocean surrounded me, my arms pushed and my legs kicked as I swam within it. The sky was black as night yet no stars or clouds could be seen, I did not know how long I swam for but a feeling of unease began to set in, I soon stopped swimming entirely, using my limbs to keep me afloat.

" _Where am I,"_ my mind wonders, _"How did I get hear?"_

I was alone in this dark and vast ocean, no light save for the pale light of the full moon that was just over the horizon. The sense of unease grew in my chest yet the ocean around me remained calm, it felt as if I became lucid in the middle of a dream, yet I do not remember falling asleep.

A sound reaches my ears, it was faint at first but soon it became clear, water was rushing towards me. I turned my head quickly behind me, my eyes widened when I beheld a forty foot tall wave rushing towards me like a raging bull.

I began to swim as fast as I could towards the moon on the horizon, my legs kicked with all their might, and my arms pushed the water with as much strength as I could possibly manage. But still the wave came closer, making a mockery of my attempts to outpace it.

Within seconds my body was hit by the wave, the feeling of being lifted haplessly by the raging water was as exhilarating as it was freighting. The wave carried me towards the moon, it seeming to grow larger and brighter with each passing second, soon the moon grew so bright that I had to close my eyes least I become blinded.

A new sound soon entered this lonely ocean world, a sound so loud it even carried over the raging torrent of water. A woman was screaming in pain, the screams only grew in volume as the wave brought me closer to the moon that was now so bright not even my closed eyes could stop the slight pain I was feeling from the brightness.

Suddenly I felt the wave crash into something, I felt myself fall headfirst towards the water, the screaming persisted and the moon shun ever brighter even as my head reached the water, but instead of drowning I felt myself being pulled gently by my shoulders by what felt like a pair of soft yet very large hands.

* * *

Ietaka Kaizen held his newborn son in his arms while his wife Shio rested after nearly a full day of labor. Ietaka smiled at her, by all accounts the woman could be described as vary plain, easily able to be lost in a sea of other faces with her mid length brown hair, slightly blemished skin from many days working in the son, and her average height. All about her was perfectly designed to be as plain and ordinary as possible, Ietaka himself was much the same, average looks in every respect, dark brown hair, average male height, broad shoulders and muscular arms from many days working at the forge, truly an average pair.

Yet when Ietaka looked down at his son he was anything but average, the boy looked as if someone had made a very realistic looking mannequin, no eyebrows, clean bald head, facial features that just looked blank. The boy looked like a white canvas that was just waiting to be painted into something imaginative.

Ietaka however did not look confused or even surprised at his son's looks however, as if it was normal for a child to look so blank.

"Ietaka-kun, let me see him," the man heard his wife's soft, smooth voice. He looked to see his wife sitting up on their bed with her brown hair still matted with sweat and a tired look still in her eyes.

He made his way towards her and carefully handed his wife their child, "I'm not a doctor, but he seems healthy enough," Ietaka spoke, his tone deep and gravelly from years of drinking alcohol.

Shio shot a tired glance towards her husband, "you couldn't have put the genjustu on him when I was out?"

"I'm sorry, I'll do that right now," he said with a sheepish grin before touching his son on the temple, in seconds the boy's appearance changed from that of a blank mannequin to a near copy of his parents. "When do you think we should start teaching him to make the changes permanent," Ietaka asked.

"as soon as he's able to understand what chakra is, I don't want him to be underprepared, we are the last of our clan after all," Shio spoke while looking down at her child.

Ietaka sighed, "I wish he could live his life without fear of being punished for our sins Shio-chan" he said before kissing the top of his wife's head.

Shio nodded at that, "he will have a normal a life as any Kaizen, thanks to our ancestors and their mistakes, he will have to be better than us Ietaka-kun, smarter, faster, I don't want him to be a shinobi but if worst comes to worst then we'll have to put faith in Konoha."

"he won't need to go if I have any say about it, we'll be there for him every step of the way," Ietaka spoke with confidence.

Shio smiled at her husband and leaned into his chest, "no matter what," she said before falling fast asleep once again with her child in her arms.

* * *

It has been…days, or has it been weeks, I could not tell. All I knew was that I was constantly tired and constantly hungry, I couldn't move my limbs properly, I could barely see anything unless it was right in my face, but the grogginess of my mind and the hunger I felt in my stomach was too much to allow me to contemplate my situation.

But as time went on I became less hungry and the weariness receded from my mind, it felt as if I had woken up from anesthesia after a highly invasive surgery. I don't remember going to the hospital, in fact the last thing I remember was… _"wait… why can't I remember?"_ I can't remember what lead up to this, _"okay, okay think, I'm twenty three, live in Texas, I'm a man, the year is…fuck what's the date?!"_ I begin grow more worried as more of my memories that I thought I had become harder to recall, _"what's my name…shit what's my name?!"_ My breathing became more erratic I tried to sit up from my prone position but it felt as if I had taken enough muscle relaxer to kill an elephant, my inability to move only compounded with my already stressed mind and I began to panic.

I tried to yell for help but all I heard was the sound of a baby crying, _"is that my voice?"_ I questioned.

I yelled for help gain and still the same sound left my throat, _"this is wrong, this is so wrong!"_ I did the only thing I could do, wiggle in place and a yell for help.

I heard the sound of footsteps running towards me, a second later I was being lifted into the air, _"what the fuck?"_ I questioned as I felt what could only be described as giant arms holding me gently. _"did I die, am I in heaven, am I being held by some giant angel?"_

As I thought this my vision was filled with blob that had the vague shape of a human head, I heard the blob shush me and begin to speak in a soft voice in a language that I couldn't speak, and as the blob spoke it began to rock me back and forth in its arms. _"okay so probably heaven, I guess this is an angle, I don't really know what angles speak, but… it did sound eastern like not middle eastern but way far out their eastern."_ I never knew there were eastern angles, but then again angles aren't exactly human anyway.

The angle began to sing in its alien language, it was a sweet tune that made it harder and harder to stay awake, _"not what I expected to be what heaven was like, but this is more than what I deserve so I shouldn't complain,"_ I thought before falling into a deep sleep.

* * *

" _I'm starting to doubt my whole heaven theory"_ I think as I look upon a large burly man trying to feed me what I only guess is applesauce. I was sitting in a high chair, in a small kitchen, the woman who I thought was an angel was currently slaving over a hot stove making what smelled like steamed vegetables and grilled fish. Both the woman and the man looked very ordinary to me save for the shape of their eyes that defiantly gave away some sort of eastern descent.

The man spoke in his foreign tongue again and guided the applesauce into my mouth, I don't like being feed things to me but sense my arms are about as useful as a sprinkler in a rainstorm I let the man feed me. _"some of the words they speak sound somewhat familiar, i mean I know what Korean sounds like, and these two ain't talking like a Korean, I think I knew someone who spoke it often …what was it…my neighbor, childhood friend? Ah damn memories."_ It annoyed me how their where holes in my memories, no doubt I've suffered some sort of brain trauma making me think that I'm as small as a baby and making me forget who I am and how to move and talk properly. But what I can't explain is why I'm in a house with two foreign people taking care of me. _"Am I in the military? Am I stationed in Japan and got hurt away from my base?"_ That sounded like a more likely option, but yet I don't remember ever signing up for the military, from what I could remember I was never smart enough for the air force I think I would remember being on a huge ass ship if I was in the navy. _"Is the army even stationed in Japan or is it just the air force and navy?"_ I shook my head, I don't remember ever keeping up with US foreign policy, I do love history though, _"yeah I remember, I was a history major,"_ I smiled at least I remembered that much about myself.

The man feed me another spoon full of applesauce, as I was chewing my food I couldn't help but draw my eyes towards the woman's rear, it was nice, she defiantly kept in shape. Definite seven, _"wait…"_ I glance down at my crotch, _"I don't feel anything, like not even aroused, does my dick still work?!"_ okay this was bad, definite brain damage, I mean what twenty three year old man feels absolutely nothing when staring at a fine piece of booty?

" _fuck kill me now, I don't want to live life half a man,"_ I lamented, the other man spoke again in his foreign, likely Japanese, language. Before I knew it he had picked me up, or at least my brain damaged mind thought I was being carried, I felt a few quick taps on my back before I let out an involuntary burp. _" I don't think this can get any worse,"_ I thought to myself as he gently set me back down.

* * *

I can walk again, slowly and with a lot of effort but I can walk, I think if I keep this pace in recovery up my mind would go back to normal and I wouldn't think that I'm a baby anymore. As I walk the care taker, a woman who's name I learned to be Shio was crouched down and encouraging me with every step I took. It felt patronizing but she didn't seem to be talking with any sort of condescension so I didn't let myself feel offended. The woman kept on saying the word Isamu for some reason, for all I know it meant 'good job' or 'keep going' but the strange thing is she only said the word when referring to me, so it most likely was 'patient' or the Japanese version of John Doe. Whatever it was it felt strange to be called something that wasn't my real name, not that I remember my real name but I know it ain't Isamu.

I finally made it towards Shio before my legs gave out, she caught me easily and took my into her arms, she spoke words of what I assume to be of encouragement Shio then took me towards a different part of the living room and sat down on the couch with me on her lap, she then pointed to herself, "Kaasan," she said.

" _She's trying teach me,"_ I thought, that was nice of her, even though I highly doubt I'd ever be smart enough to become fluent in one of the hardest language ever devised by mankind but there isn't a reason to not try.

"K.." words where hard for me in general right now thank to whatever brain trauma I'm going through, "Kaasan" I babbled out.

Shio for some reason squealed excitedly at this, she said a few more words faster than I could understand and looked at me expectantly, _"I guess she wants me to do it again?"_ I question.

"Kaasan" I said again with a little less effort this time, Shio squealed again before she jumped to her feet and fast walked towards the door.

" _Wait are we going outside?"_ I haven't been outside yet, I have seen outside from the windows in the house but I haven't actually been out yet.

Shio threw the door open the sun blinded me for a moment, but I recovered easily. I saw that we were on a warn dirt road, only a few people where milling about, all of the homes and what I assume to be shops where made of wood, it looked like a small rural town that was lost in time. I might not be an expert in Japanese history but I'm pretty sure Japan modernized a long time ago, so why does everyone look like they're living in what amounted to the Japanese version of the medieval ages. _"the sen something, sengoku? Yeah Sengoku period!"_ I smiled to myself, _"I'm so smart sometimes."_

I shook my head of those idle thought as we went further into town, it literally did look like a traditional Japanese village, like some place you would find in a starting town in a Japanese themed Dungeons and Dragons campaign. _"Maybe these people are very isolated, or they're just Japanese Amish?"_ That made the most sense, Japan isn't large enough to have pockets of the old world hidden around without it being a tourist attraction, and I don't see any of my fellow fat as shit Americans making an ass of themselves in a foreign land lumbering about.

Eventually we make it to _"holy shit is this a black smith, we really are in a D and D campaign!"_ I inwardly cheer.

Shio opens the door to find the man that I see around the house slaving away at a glowing slab of metal, Shio spoke towards the man, _"Ietaka, is his name,"_ remember.

The man upon hearing Shio speak looks towards us in surprise, the exchange words that I can't understand before both looking at me expectantly, _"do they want me to speak again?"_ I wonder.

Shio then bounces me up and down slightly, taking that as my queue I speak, "Kaasan" I say while pointing at Shio, I hardly know what it means that I'm saying, for all I know they're fucking with me and I'm saying some embarrassing shit but Ietaka and Shio both look pleased, I can't tell if they're proud or not, I never made anyone proud back home so it's hard to tell if that's pride I see in their faces.

* * *

It's been a year I suspect sense I woke up in this Japanese Amish village, I only assume it's been a year sense I've seen the snow come and go and the spring weather take its place. Walking has become a lot easier, I can go to the bathroom on my own as well, I hated having to be taken care of like that, it felt like I was a parasite. I could talk better and understand more of the Japanese language, _"I guess it's true what they say, the best way to learn any language is to go headfirst into the culture and surround yourself with the natives,"_ I say to myself.

I'm currently inside of the house that I've become familiar with, I'm sitting down on the comfortable couch attempting to read a children's story. It has small words in big bold…well I wouldn't call whatever the hell this is letters but…I'm trying to make sense of this squiggly shit. Reading and speaking Japanese are two completely different things _, "damn island people and their isolationism, people must have gotten so bored that the only thing they could do was make the most overly complicated writing system known to man,"_ I lament.

"Isamu-chan, what are you reading?" I hear the soft voice of Shio say from behind me. I look up at her, I figured out that she was making me call her mother, strange woman, but then again my mind still hasn't recovered enough to where I no longer think that I'm a child so who am I to judge?

"I don't know, the words are too hard," I admit, I was never prideful when it comes to asking for help, from what I can remember I used to be growing up but when I got into college I decided to mooch off of the smartest people I can get my hands on and learn from them until there wasn't anything left to learn, _  
"holy fuck I'm such a human leech."_

Shio giggles at me, "well let me help you dear," she said as she walked around the couch and sat right next to me.

We spent the next hour or so going through the book page after page, as she helped me learn how to read. It was hard, decades of only speaking English with a bit of Spanish sprinkled in is hard to erase. My mind keeps trying to see the roman alphabet hidden within the Japanese squiggles that Shio told me are called Kanji. But Shio never lost her patience with me even though I was struggling, if she were my father then she would have left thirty minutes ago in frustration.

We only stopped when Ietaka walked into the house, and I saw Shio greet the man with a kiss, I would be lying if I didn't say that I was slightly disappointed that she was with another man. But then again I guess that's just the type of sad lonely sack of shit that I am trying to draw conclusions that aren't even there. _"you're a mental patient remember, you still think your one years old, you'll probably never recover, never be able to go home, never see your family again."_ I shook my head trying to rid myself of those thoughts, God I hated my own mind sometimes.

"So I hear our smart little boy is already learning how to read, did you finish the whole book already," Ietaka said as he walked towards me with a smile.

I frowned slightly, _"why are they indulging in my delusions, isn't it worse on the patient to play along?"_ this wasn't the first time that this has happened, they often treat me like an actual child rather than the head case I know I am, they should really take me to a modern city and get me some drugs to help with this.

"We read a few pages together, he picks it up pretty fast," Shio answered.

I rolled my eyes, it took us an hour just to go five pages in the book, they probably think I have dyslexia on top of my brain damage which is why me going at the rate that I did is considered fast.

"That's wonderful, at this rate we'll be able to teach you our family secrets in no time," Ietaka said with a smile.

I raised an eyebrow at that but didn't comment, if they want to teach me how to make the best chicken pot pie or whatever they're family secret is than its no skin of my nose.

"Alright let's head to the table and I'll start cooking for tonight," Shio said as she picked me up and headed towards the kitchen.

* * *

Another year has come and gone and my skill in reading has only improved with time despite the slow pace that its going. I've also learned a few things about Shio and Ietaka over this time, Shio is a seamstress at a local tailor, and Ietaka has two jobs, not only is he the blacksmith but he's also a part of the town militia, I guess the Amish police force of the town. The house doesn't have much visitors, but a few of Shio's and Ietaka's colleagues stop by for dinner and drinks once in a while. They're nice enough people, Ietaka's friends talk about work and past experiences while Shio and her friend's gossip and be passive aggressive to each other, so I guess Japan isn't all that different from America in that respect.

From all the times that I've been outside I have never seen a child, the youngest person that I've seen was in their upper teens, I guess small towns like this most of the younger generation eventually leave for the modern life while only a few stay behind for whatever reason. I have noted however that Shio and Ietaka are very protective of me, almost overly so, I walked outside one day without them knowing. I wanted to just watch the clouds, I hadn't been gone five minutes until I heard Shio running towards me and picking me up crying saying that she thought that 'they' took me. Highly suspicious, and its only given me another theory as to what the hell is wrong with me. Which Is that I'm an American service man who somehow got hurt and ended up in Amish Japan and everyone around me is a part of a cult that hates the outside and somehow they've taken me in and they may or may not think I'm their God.

Outlandish existential theories aside I have found myself enjoying my time here, the people are pleasant and being surrounded by fresh forest air everyday rather than city smog is always a welcome feeling in my lungs.

Right now I'm outside under a large tree, I'm only ten or so feet away from the kitchen window where Shio can see me as she washes the dishes from this morning's breakfast. I lie back with a content sigh as the summer breeze brushes at my face.

I hear the soft crunch of grass on bear feet approach me as my eyes are closed, "Isamu I think it's time for me to teach you something very important," I hear Shio say above me.

I open my eyes to see her looking at me seriously, I look at her confused but I stand up regardless. Shio takes my hand and leads me into the house. She eventually leads me into the living room, she closes all of the windows and pulls the curtains over each one and sits down with me in the middle of the floor.

"Isamu what I am about to tell you stays within our family, there are bad people out there that want to hurt us and not everyone can be trusted do you understand?" She asks seriously.

I nod my head still confused.

Shio smiles at me, "good, now I am going to teach you how to unlock your chakra, it's an energy that allows people to do amazing things and it will allow you to learn our clan's bloodline."

I blink once…I blink twice, _"the fuck? Why is she talking like a Naruto character?"_ I get a bad feeling at the pit of my stomach, and I feel some strange itch at the back of my head, like a memory desperately trying to be remembered.

"I want you to sit how I'm sitting and hold your fingers like this," she instructs.

This was all very strange, but I decided to humor her, the worst that can happen is that Shio's crazy too and we can all be crazy together.

"good, now close your eyes and breathe deeply this is called meditation."

I close my eyes and breath in and out.

"breath slowly," Shio said gently.

I did as told, after a few minutes Shio spoke again, "now focus on your stomach, you will feel something warm bundled up there, untangle it and let the warmth flow through your body."

I breathed in and out, I focused on my stomach, yet found nothing as expected, a minute passed yet nothing another minute and yet nothing still, a third minute _"wait,"_ it was fast but I felt something, it was warm and it felt like it was inside of me. I delved deeper, and my breathing slowed even more, I felt it again, it was hazy but it was constant now. I went even deeper, it was warm, like I had drunk a cup of hot coco and I could still feel the warmth in my stomach.

I began to 'see', more like imagine a bundle of twine, I began to pull it apart and unknot it. It was hard at first but as I began to untangle more and more of the warm bundle it became easier, I didn't know how long it took but when I untied the last knot I felt a sudden wave of warmth spread thorough my body, as if my body had been numb this entire time and blood was finally rushing in my veins. It felt exhilarating, like I could run a hundred miles, take on a tiger, eat the biggest toughest steak I could get my hands on, it felt like I just shot a liter of whisky into my system and could beat the shit out of anyone in the bar.

But then the memories, the holes in my mind began to flood in, my name, John, my history exam that was due the next day, the stormy weather, the drunk driver, the blackness, and the endless ocean with the bright moon.

My eyes opened wide as I gasped for breath, I see Shio smiling at me. "Congratulations honey, you just unlocked your chakra!" She said happily

" _I…I died…but how…"_ I then heard what she said, _"chakra…being so small…fuck I'm not…I can't be!"_ But as crazy as it sounds, I'd rather believe that I somehow was reborn into the Naruto world than be a mental case in an Amish village in Japan.

* * *

 **This is my first attempt at getting back into writing and my first time ever writing and SI. Well it's not an actual SI more like a reborn story, Isamu is more like a small part of my personality that's just inflated to become a whole person.**

 **let me know what you think. I have plans for this story that I think many of you would find interesting. I'm not into making an OP Mary sue story, his bloodline is fairly unique from all that I have read in fan fiction, there have been attempts to make a bloodline that is similar to what I have in mind but I haven't seen it done very well.**

 **I hope this was entertaining and I hope that you please leave a review that you feel is worth your time to write, thank you for reading!**


	2. Terrible Twos

**Shape Shifter**

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 **I don't own Naruto, Naruto is the property of Kishimoto Masashi and is not my intellectual property. There is no financial gain made from this nor will any be sought. This is for entertainment purposes only.**

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Terrible Twos

It has been two weeks sense I unlocked my chakra, Shio and Ietaka have been teaching me something called the leaf sticking exercise, a chakra control exercise that I remember from the anime. It's harder than it looks it took me two days to even get it to stick to my forehead for more than five seconds and even then I felt drained. According to Shio I'm making good progress, but I think she's only saying that because I'm her son. _"Her son... but...I still can't see her as my mother,"_ it was still hard to accept that I may be living in the Naruto universe, I hold a lot of doubts, maybe I'm in a coma and this is how my mind is coping, if that's true then they're really isn't a point in not going with the flow.

I do have to say, whether or not I really am living in the Naruto world or I'm comatose in a hospital bed it does feel a lot better ruling out the mental patient theory, and the cult theory. Makes my life a lot less complicated, all I have to do now is learn from my 'parents' and live life as it comes to me.

I was currently doing a meditation exercise that Ietaka taught me, it was supposed to help me get more in tune with my own chakra. It was simply feeling how it flows, where it flows, and at what speed. All I've got from it is that it moves very slowly, it takes nearly four seconds for chakra to move from my stomach and into my toes, which I'm told is bad but as I get older there should be enough chakra in my body that it flows at a consistently rapid pace, and if I have enough control I can either speed that up even more or slow it down. Shio told me that's how you break genjustu, stopping and speeding up your chakra very rapidly which should in theory shake off what she calls 'bad people's chakra'.

I was so lost in my own chakra that I didn't feel Ietaka's eyes on me until I felt a leaf fall from my head and onto my nose. I blinked, _"when did he place that on my head?"_ I wondered.

"You were doing so well son, you didn't even notice that you had a leaf sticking to you for a full minute." Ietaka said with a smile.

I grabbed the leaf and looked down at it, "but…last time I could only keep it on for twelve seconds," I responded in confusion.

Ietaka knelt down at my level, "you're too hard on yourself son, and you think too much, you're only two years old and you can already do things that five year olds are just staring to learn."

I frowned at that, _"I'm not hard on myself, just realistic, if I'm shit at something I'm shit at it hard work only get you so far."_

Ietaka must have seen the look on my face because he picked me up and began to walk me out of the house, "son I'm going to show you just how far along you are compared to the other kids, that way you know just how smart you are." He said as we walked outside and onto the main road.

We walked past a few houses, passing Shio's tailor shop on the way, I glance inside and saw the woman with her back towards the window while she skillfully sewed what looked like an elegant baby blue dress.

It took us only a few minutes to reach a house that was a bit larger than the other houses in the village, this one was the only house that had a second story other than the inn. "Son this is where the village elder lives with his grandnephew who's your age, I want you to be on your best behavior and remember, do not tell anyone about chakra or anything we've been teaching you alright." Ietaka said in a low voice.

I nodded my head before he put me down and walked with me towards the doors of the house, Ietaka knocked on the door three times before he waited. A moment later the door slid open to reveal an older gentlemen, looking to be in his late forties or early fifties. "O Ietaka my boy, it's good to see you, what seems to be the problem?" the old man asked, sounding as if he had been smoking twelve packs a day sense he came out of the womb.

"nothing is the problem Elder Satoshi, I just wanted to ask if your grandnephew Sora would like to play with my son," Ietaka offered.

The old man looked down at me with a kindly smile while I returned the gesture, "o little Sora could use a new friend, yes come inside he's playing in the sitting room as we speak," Satoshi says before he opens the door wider and gestures for us to enter the house.

The home is cozy enough, I could do without having to get lung cancer just from entering the door, but it wasn't a terrible place, it's what one would expect from a respected elder of a small village.

Ietaka gently nudged me towards a side room that had two sliding doors open, guessing that was the way to the sitting room I followed his lead. As I entered I saw a boy around my age…well my physical age I guess, he had black hair tied in a topknot, and was wearing a light blue gi. The boy, _"Sora,"_ I remind myself, was currently playing with a very old looking toy, what it was originally I don't know but from what I can see its possibly made of cloth and is stuffed with hay, It looked a lot like a crude voodoo doll in my honest opinion.

"Sora," Satoshi called, the boy stopped his playing and looked towards the elder with wide innocent eyes. "this," Satoshi gestured to me, "will be your new playmate for today, be nice and remember to share."

Sora nodded his head like he understood, but I think most of the words went in one ear and out the other. I glanced back to see the elder and Ietaka walk away and into the living room, I could hear them making small talk, nothing of interest to me.

It was then that I felt Sora tugging at my sleeve, I looked down to see the babbling two year old drooling and handing me his spit covered hay doll. "umm…" I began, I don't do well with kids, hell I haven't even been around a child this young sense I was sixteen, but even then I didn't even hold it. Sora seemed to get impatient and began to poke me with the hay doll, "Uhh… do you want to play fetch?" I question, dogs are about as smart as human children, so it's basically the same thing right?

Sora hands me the doll again and I take it by pinching a side of the doll that felt less damp than the other parts of the voodoo thing, _"whoever this was meant for has probably already drowned to death by now,"_ I muse.

I do a halfhearted throw across the room, Sora's head follows the arc of the doll before it falls onto the floor and slides a few inches towards the opposite wall, the kid just looks back at me blankly.

"Uhh, okay I guess that doesn't work with people…" I chuckle awkwardly, "do you know how to play paddy cake?" I ask. Sora blinks at me as a snot bubble pops off of his nose, _"this is going to be a long day."_

* * *

Ietaka thanks Satoshi for the cup of tea as the elder sits down on the comfortable chair across from the burly black smith. "Ietaka my boy it has been so long sense we've had one of our chats, but then again raising your first child does take up most of one's free time, believe me I raised nine children in this house not including Sora."

Ietaka sighs tiredly, "yes but Shio-chan and I thank the God's every day that we were blessed with a well behaved boy."

Satoshi nods at that, "yes I've noticed that as well, very quiet he is, and when he does its surprisingly well articulated, almost like you have a little genius in your family," he says with a chuckle accenting the many laugh lines around his eyes while showing his rotted teeth.

"Yes Shio-chan is a very astute teacher, that woman is smarter than I'll ever be," Ietaka admits.

"I don't doubt that Shio is a brilliant teacher, but you have to admit my boy that your son is something special, I can see it in his eyes, always thinking, always curious, eyes of a philosopher that one." Satoshi said with confidence.

Ietaka took a sip of his tea, "Elder Satoshi I would hate to be rude but my son isn't the real reason why I came here," he admitted.

Satoshi merely raised a grey eyebrow and gestured for the man to continue.

"As I was making my rounds last night I couldn't help but notice a team of Konoha ninja were staying at the inn, I assumed they were just passing through but I noticed that they still remain in the village, is there something that I should know about?" Ietaka questioned.

Satoshi nodded, "I will admit that I was hoping the ninja would be done with their work by now but as it seems their mission is not yet completed I have no choice but to inform you," Satoshi took a sip of tea before continuing. "Yesterday a team of ninja had informed me that they were chasing a wanted criminal around the area, a theft, I assumed that a mission like this would be over with quickly however for reasons that I do not know the ninja team remain and the Jounin leader hasn't informed my why."

Ietaka sighed at that, "ninja bring nothing but trouble, never caring about collateral damage, always thinking that anyone who wears their headband is more important than us regular people, nothing good as ever come from a ninja."

Satoshi took a long drag from his tea cup before answering, "I agree, they plunge our world into three wars that took all of my sons from me, never caring for the countries that they are meant to serve, hording all of the wealth to themselves while the rest of us starve, a vile and greedy folk ninja are. Never trust them Ietaka, and pray that they never find your son, they turn good people into monsters."

Ietaka looked towards his son, awkwardly trying to play with Sora as if the other child where some sort of new species of animal, he smiled a sad smile, "I do Elder Satoshi, I pray every day that he is never cursed with a hitai-ate."

* * *

It wasn't until after noon that Ietaka had mercy on me and took me home, we were now walking back with me sitting on his shoulders, "now do you understand how you compare to other children your age son?" Ietaka asked.

I nodded, "yeah, I guess I'm a little ahead of the curb," I admitted.

I hear Ietaka sigh, "son there is a difference between being humble and beating yourself up, you should know that your mother and I think, no, we know that you're the smartest kid we've ever known, you make me and your mother proud every day."

I couldn't help but smile at that, my own parents rarely said that they were proud of me, mostly because I was a lazy piece of shit that didn't even get a job until they threatened to kick me out. They weren't cruel parents I was just honestly very lazy, hell I would have kicked me out if I were them. But it still does feel good to know that I am making at least someone proud, even if they're probably figments of my imagination.

We eventually make it home and where greeted by an aroma of chicken and freshly baked bread, "o look who's home, Isamu-chan go wash your hands please before we eat okay," Shio greeted.

" _There's something wrong,"_ I thought, I felt tension in the air almost as soon as I entered the door, Shio's eyes screamed danger and her smile was strained. I took the cue and walked into the hallway towards the bathroom as soon as Ietaka let me down. I opened the door to the bathroom and turned on the sink, but I didn't wash my hands, I let the sound of the rushing water muffle the sound of my bare feet walking on the wood flooring as I crept back to the kitchen.

As I was near the end of the hallway I knew that just around the corner to my right was the small kitchen, "we're honored to have you in our home Shinobi-san," I heard Ietaka speak.

" _A shinobi, in our home? What do they want"_ I wonder.

"I apologize for the intrusion like this sir but as the captain of the guard militia in this town I would like to ask you a few questions that could help us in a mission that my team and I are on at the moment." A voice spoke, it sounded like a young woman from her voice I could tell that she wasn't hostile.

I decided that there was no immediate danger and so washed my hands as quickly as I could before walking back to the kitchen. When I turned the corner I had to bite my lip to keep me from gasping in surprise, sitting at the table with a cup of hot tea in her hand was someone who would grow to become one of the most attractive woman in the entire Naruto world. Kurenai Yuhi turned her head towards me and I was stunned in those scarlet orbs, even at seventeen it was obvious that the beauty she would grow into would be stunning.

"o hello there," Kurenai greeted me with a warm smile.

I felt Shio subtly side step towards me when the ninja acknowledge me.

"Uhh.. hi," I squeak out, _"damnit man you're fumbling over fucking minor, get your pedo ass out of the gutter!"_ I berate myself.

Kurenai smile at me with her eyes close and gave a soft giggle, "your son is very cute Shio-san."

At this my face turns beat red, _"she's just being nice, calm down,"_ I try to tell myself.

"Thank you Shinobi-san, would you like to stay for lunch while you ask my husband your questions?" Shio offered. I could tell that she was just being nice, from the look in her eyes I knew that Kurenai was not wanted.

" _Damn why so paranoid, I mean yeah ninja blow shit up but historically speaking, at least on earth, ninja where typically the more honorable ones while the samurai where the backstabbing warlords,"_ I muse.

Kurenai nodded her head at Shio's suggestion, "that would be lovely, my team captain isn't expecting me back until later tonight."

I could feel the tension in the room grow as Shio set up the table for our lunch, no one was speaking, and the only sound that could be heard was the ticking of a small clock on the wall behind me. I couldn't help but imagine Kurenai as an SS officer conducting an investigation on our house, _"but I wonder, which one of us is the escaping Jew in this scenario?"_

With the table set, we began to eat, "So shinobi-san, what brings you to our village?" Ietaka asked cordially.

Kurenai swallowed her mouthful of chicken before answering, "my team and I have tracked a thief heading towards this village, he is a young man about twenty four years old, he has dyed green hair and a short trimmed beard, he also has a stylized fire tattoo on his right shoulder. Have you or any of the men in the local militia noticed anyone that fits this description?"

Ietaka and Shio both pause for a moment, trying to recall a man that matched what she was saying, I was drawing a blank, my visit to Sora was the first time I've been away from the immediate vicinity of the house for over two weeks.

"I can't say that I have Shinobi-san", Ietaka admitted.

Shio nodded in confirmation, "yes I can't say that I've seen that man before, Ietaka-kun has other duties as the village black smith so he isn't a full time militia member and I take care of Isamu-chan and work in the tailor shop down the street."

Kurenai nodded at this as she finished her plate, "what are your patrol routes if you don't mind me asking."

Ietaka hummed, "well we change shifts every other day, I can bring a map of the village out and show you," Ietaka offered.

The Konoha shinobi smiled at that, "that would be most helpful, thank you Ietaka-san."

After Ietaka left Kurenai began to speak once more, "that was a delicious meal Shio-san, thank you again."

Shio waved her complement away, "o it was nothing, just some things I had lying around." Shio was very humble when it came to her amazing cooking, it's almost as if she didn't like to be praised on something that she found to be truly easy, I can relate.

Kurenai then leaned forward towards Shio, "does your shop take special orders Shio-san?" Kurenai asked.

Shio looked at the Kunoichi in surprise, "why yes we do, it's our specialty," she admitted.

Kurenai smiled at that, "before I leave I'm going to have to pay your shop a visit, I have a coming home gift that I would like to give to a friend of mine."

Shio and Kurenai kept making small talk while I could hear Ietaka rummage around his and Shio's shared office room, I couldn't help but feel bored at the direction of conversation so I decided to make things a bit interesting. "What's your name?" I asked, a bit blunt but I'm supposed to be as a two year old.

Kurenai turned her head away from Shio to address me and smiled towards me, "my names Kurenai Yuhi, I'm from a ninja village called Konoha."

I decided to keep her talking, not every day you get to have a conversation with a fictional character. "What's a ninja?" I asked innocently.

Kurenai kept that sweet smile on her face, "well a ninja is a protector of sorts, we go around and stop bad guys all over the country, kind of like what your Otosan does."

It was a heavily censored version of what shinobi life is all about but it's the answer I expected from a person like Kurenai. Her character is the most motherly out of her whole generation, "is your home far away?" I asked.

Kurenai shook her head "no I live only a few days away from where you live, we're practically neighbors."

My eyes widened slightly in surprise, I figured this town was in the middle of nowhere some place off the grid, but then again why would an expensive tailor shop like Shio's ever find business? "Wow that's really close, do you think we could visit one day Kaasan?" I asked in excitement, seeing a place as iconic as Konoha with my own eyes feels like it would be really fun. I could visit all the places that that was in the series, the Hokage monument, Ichiraku ramen, the academy, team seven's bridge, the memorial stone, all of it!

Shio however gave nothing away in her expression, "we may visit one day Isamu-chan, but don't be disappointed if it isn't for a while okay dear." She looked a little sad a my disappointed expression but I understood, both Ietaka and Shio had jobs that they just couldn't leave at the drop of a hat, and if there is anything that Dungeons and Dragons have taught me, it's that the wild open road is a very dangerous place.

"Now," Shio began as she stood up and brushed a few crumbs off of her skirt, "it's time for your nap little boy, come on" She picked me up from my chair and held me in her arms, as she walked out of the kitchen and towards my room I was able to look back at Kurenai one last time and give her a small wave goodbye which she returned.

Shio placed me in my comfortable bed and pulled the blankets over me, she kissed my head and whispered, "Isamu, I want you to know that I love you very much and that everything I tell you is to protect you okay."

I nodded my understanding.

She smiled at me, "good, if there is anything that you learn from me it is that you can't trust everyone, especially ninja, they may act nice but they're really mean on the inside, be very careful with them sweaty okay." Shio whispered.

I looked at her in confusion, _"why is she so paranoid? Did she and Ietaka go rouge? are they wanted, knowing my luck they're faces are probably plastered all over the bingo books,"_ I think, but I have to be sure, "but why Kaasan?"

Shio sighed at that, "because some people are just bad people Isamu-chan, just trust me okay honey," she all but pleaded.

I nod, I didn't want to cause a scene with Kurenai in the other room, "okay Kaasan," I assured.

Shio smiled once again and kissed the top of my head, "have a good nap sweaty," she said before she walked out the door and closed it.

* * *

It was the next day and I was once again trying to keep a leaf stuck to my head, I have been unable to hold it for the one minute that I held it for yesterday which is very frustrating. Shio tells me that Its because I think too much and should trust in my chakra, but I'm not the type of person to just let go, I need to be in control, I trust myself more than I trust some arcane magic that shouldn't even exist.

Right now I am sitting in my room, it is dark with the curtains drawn over my window, Shio insist that I cannot practice out in the open when there are ninja about, the more she talks about them the more I understand why Shio and Ietaka are very untrusting of ninja. It makes sense that they are paranoid, from all of what I've seen in both the anime and manga the Naruto world is a very dark place. Kishimoto might gloss over it a few times but if you read into it the world is more of a powder keg than Europe ever was. I mean at least the more civilized places in my world didn't out right idealize child soldiery, hell this place is more fucked than post-colonial Africa and that's putting it lightly.

So I guess them being paranoid shouldn't really be called paranoia, just being rightfully cautious, still, I would have liked to have been outside, the fresh air helps me concentrate, but I guess the wind doesn't help with keeping the leaf on my head.

I was going on my second hour of my attempt at the exercise, I have doubled my time to twenty four seconds now, I think I just need to keep at it, Shio said to come to her when I can keep it on my head while I walk around the house without thinking about the leaf. I eventually got bored of just sitting here in the middle of the floor and decided to go outside and sit under my favorite tree, I walked out of my room and found it strange that I couldn't find Shio. _"Weird, she usually is washing dishes around this time, maybe she's just in her office,"_ I shrug my shoulders, neither of them ever let me away from them for more than an hour or so, so I guess they're around somewhere.

I make my way outside, the weather was nice, the slight breeze in the air cooled me down just enough not to make it too hot, I laid down under my favorite tree, a cherry blossom tree that at this time was still blooming. I felt my back pop as I stretched across the trunk and let out a loud yawn, _"my chakra reserves must be very low to already be this tired"_ I sit still for a while, looking up at the gently moving limbs of my tree.

Thunk, Thunk, Thunk

I raised my head up and looked around for the noise, it was very quiet, almost a whisper but I could have sworn I heard someone hitting wood near me.

Thunk, Thunk

" _Their it was again,"_ I stand up and looked around, nothing but trees, only the sound of the lightly creaking branches filled the air, _"wait…"_ I paused, _"I don't hear any birds,"_ that put me on edge more than anything. Animals' danger sense are far superior to mine and if the birds around hear decided to bug out then I should follow suit.

I begin to fast walk back towards the house, but I didn't take more than five steps when I felt myself suddenly be picked up out of nowhere and held up by the neck. "Gah!" I tried to shout.

I looked up in fear and saw a man with dyed green hair holding me with his left forearm wrapped around my neck tightly. His kunai pointed at the side of my face was the next thing that I noticed, along with a panicked look in his eyes as they darted around the area. "S…stay back all of you, if you come any closer I'll kill the kid!" He yelled into the forest.

Terror began to set in, I started to squirm and flail my little legs "Gah…fu!" I tried to speak but his hold only tightened around me. I looked around in desperation, I saw Kurenai walk out into the open with her hands up.

"Calm down Ariatsu, you're only wanted for stealing from Konoha, not murder, don't make it harder on yourself," I felt Kurenai's soothing voice wash over me like a warm blanket and I suddenly became very sleepy.

I felt the thief loosen his grip slightly on my neck, but he suddenly shook himself and subsequently me, jarring me out of my sudden exhaustion. "I told you to stay back you genjustu witch!" the thief yelled, I saw him prepare to plunge his kunai into my head from my peripheral.

I had to act fast, thankfully he didn't tighten back up on my neck, I did the only thing I could do and bit him as hard as I could. I heard my assailant shout in anger but it wasn't enough, he still had me, my teeth weren't sharp enough, my jaw too weak. _"I need to be stronger, fuck, I need, I need more!"_ I panicked inwardly.

Just as my attacker was about to come back to stab me in my head I felt something, chakra suddenly surged into my mouth and jaw, I felt my bones creak and my teeth suddenly elongate, I gave an involuntary growl that sounded a lot like an angry dog and bit down with all of my might. I felt my teeth sink deep into his flesh, I even felt something crunch above my lower jaw, but the worst part was the taste, the horrible metallic taste of blood.

"Ow fuck my arm!" The man yelled, as he dropped me, within a second I felt another body jump atop of me to act as a shield.

"It's okay Isamu-chan, Kaasan is here, it'll all be okay," Shio whispered in a shaken voice.

I couldn't think on how Shio just appeared out of nowhere, _"I just bit a person, not just bite a tore right through him! O fuck, this is so fucked, this is so fucked!"_ I inwardly panicked.

I hardy heard the three thumping sounds that sounded behind me, or when a larger thump hit the ground with a groan.

Shio didn't waste any time and picked me up and ran towards the house, burying my face into her chest all the way.

"Target incapacitated captain," I heard Kurenai say before Shio took me around the house and pushed in the door.

Shio immediately took me to the bathroom and set me on the sink, "o my poor baby, it'll be okay, your safe, your safe now." She cried, she looked like a wreak, her eyes were red already, and she looked like she had just aged five years with all of the tension on her face accenting her worry lines.

Shio grabbed a towel and let the sink water run over it, she quickly dapped at my face, I could clearly see that one touch almost caked the whole bit of the towel she was using In blood. She spent the next few seconds washing my face, "okay honey get on the stool, rinse and spit" she said, her voice still shaken.

I turned around and immediately felt queasy at what I saw in the mirror, my mouth was covered in blood, like I had just finished off an entire platter of bloody hot wings. I immediately went to rinse but instead my body decided to hurl. The mix of half-digested toast and stomach acid did not compliant human blood at all and seeing the chunks of blood covered vomit only made me vomit more, I felt Shio's hand gently brushing my head.

A few moments pass until I felt good enough to start rinsing my mouth, I felt awful, I had a pounding headache and I was beginning to sweat. I slowly looked up at the mirror and saw that most of the blood was gone, my lips and chin where still stained red but I can handle that. It was then that I notice something, I saw a few of my teeth pointing out of my mouth, and my jaw was much more pronounced than it was before. "W…what?" I questioned.

I could see Shio still rubbing my head in the mirror, "it's okay honey, you just used our bloodline for the first time, try to think about what you normally look like, close your eyes and concentrate on yourself really hard and you'll go back to normal," she said in a reassuring tone.

I did as she instructed, I closed my eyes and tried to visualize Isamu, not me, but Isamu. His short dark brown hair, his dark chocolate brown eyes, the three freckles on the bridge of his little nose, his small frame and round cheeks, the small jawline, and his normal human baby teeth. As I was concentrating I felt my bones pop into place, it hurt when it happened but the pain only lasted the second they popped I felt my teeth recede and become normal, with a final shake of my head I felt everything fall back into its normal place.

I open my eyes and see Isamu staring right back at me Shio smile and touch my forehead with one of her fingers, a second later I see a shimmer in the air around me and then…nothing, nothing happened. "What was that Kaasan?" I asked

Shio rubbed her hands over my shoulders, "it's nothing honey, it's nothing, you don't need to worry about anything, Kaasan is here."

Whether or not she was talking to herself just as much as me I do not know, all I know is that I somehow tore through a guy's arm with my bare teeth and a copper taste that won't be washed out of my mouth for weeks, _"why do I get the feeling my life is just going to get more complicated?"_

* * *

 **Author's note:**

 **So we saw a bit of how the normal folk who live throughout the country feel about ninja, I definitely want to play around with the class structure and its huge divisions in the story but that's not till much later. We also got to see a bit of what Isamu will be able to do, I don't want to info dump the entire back story of his clan and what they can do in a wall of text. I will be sprinkling in info here and there over the next few chapters.**

 **This story is going to be a long one, action isn't the main focus, characters and the relationships between them are what makes a good story in my mind. Again this won't be Mary-sue OC badass kill everything and have no challenge story, no this story is going to be more like Die Hard. Isamu will get his ass kicked every step of the way, he will struggle and claw his way up every inch in the power ladder, his only advantages come from virtue of him being from our world and his bloodline is pretty unique so counters aren't that common yet. I want Isamu to earn his place in Naruto, not me just give him power because he's a small presentation of who I am kind of.**

 **I'm very thankful to all of the people who have favorite and followed this story so far, to the people that have reviewed you guys are awesome! let me know what you think, I know my grammar isn't the best but I want to hear criticism in other areas, what can I improve on, be more descriptive less descriptive?**

 **Regardless thank you all for reading, I do this for fun but knowing that people are interested is just an added bonus, I hope you were entertained.**


	3. New Knowlege

**Shape Shifter**

 **I don't own Naruto, Naruto is the property of Kishimoto Masashi and is not my intellectual property. There is no financial gain made from this nor will any be sought. This is for entertainment purposes only.**

New Knowledge

* * *

It had been two days after the incident, no one has talked about it sense the day it happened. I haven't actually wanted to even think about it, I can hardly even eat meat now without thinking about biting a chunk out of that man's arm. But unfortunately I think I will have to at least get Shio to talk about it, the poor woman almost watched her child die and ever sense, she has taken to sleeping in my bed. Holding me so tight I've woken up with light red marks shaped like Shio's forearms on my chest.

This invasion of what little privacy I have managed to retain in this new life has force me to decide on a very drastic and unmanly way of fixing my problems, I'm going to have to, unfortunately, talk about the incident, or at least make Shio feel like I've gotten over it. Personally I'd rather be a man about it and use the old faithful methods of therapy like alcohol and pain meds to help sort out my problem but unfortunately this village is dryer than a Baptist barbeque.

It was dusk at the moment, Shio had just brought me home after hours of waiting for her to finish work, I was sitting on the couch working on the leaf exercise, which I've made little progress, only managing about thirty seconds.

I stood up with a sigh after I lost concentration on the leaf and walked into the kitchen where I knew Shio was preparing dinner, "Kaasan," I say to get her attention. Once I see that I've gotten Shio's attention I continue, "what's our bloodline, how did it make me so…different," I say for a lack of a better word.

Shio turns towards me and sits down on a dining chair, "come here sweetie," she said patting her lap.

I follow as instructed and sit in her lap, I look up at her and see her take out a necklace that was hidden beneath her blouse, she then places the necklace in my hand, I could see that it had a stylized clawed hand that was made of bronze attached to an equally bronze chain.

"Isamu-chan," Shio began, "this is the symbol of our clan, the Kaizen clan, and we are the only ones left," I felt Shio hold unto my shoulders after she the said that.

I gulped hoping this means what I think it means yet I still felt a slight amount of appreciation at my next question, "are we…ninjas?" I asked, my eyes still transfixed on the symbol.

"No, well not anymore, our ancestors, they travelled around a lot, they never settled in a big village like where Kurenai-san is from. They wanted to be on their own, living deep in the wilds and doing jobs for whoever paid the most," Shio informed.

I looked up to see Shio with a sad look, "how are we the only ones left?" I asked.

Shio frowned, "bad people did bad things Isamu-chan, we weren't strong enough," she admitted sadly.

At this I couldn't help but feel a sting in my gut, even if I never knew them I felt sad for them, basic human sympathy I guess.

"Well," my mouth suddenly felt dry, "what's a bloodline?" I asked, I knew what it was but I want to help Shio get over this and to stop being so on edge. Keep her talking and release her tension, and get my bed back.

"well honey a bloodline is like a…power, something only people from a certain family can do, the Kaizen clan, we have a very special power, something that you must only show to people that you absolutely trust do you understand?" She said sternly.

I nodded, "okay, but what is it Kaasan?" all of this lead up better be worth it.

"let me show you," Shio said before she stood up and set me down on the kitchen table making my little feet dangle, Shio then closed all of the curtains on the windows. I couldn't see well in the dark but I could see her silhouette. She then walked towards me, "alright Isamu-chan look very closely."

Right before my eyes I saw Shio's form shrink, I heard bones popping and creaking, Shio shrank smaller and smaller until she became too small for her own clothes and all I could see was a pile of Shio's cloths sitting on the kitchen floor, there was a short pause as I saw nothing coming from the pile of clothes. "Uhh…Kaasan?" I asked carefully.

It was then that I saw the clothes move, and out from the pile of clothes jumped…a cat, I saw its yellow eyes glowing in the dark and looking up at me, "this," I hear the cat speak in what sounded like a much tinier version of Shio's voice, "is our bloodline Isamu-chan, we can turn into any animal or person that we wish."

I look down in surprise, my mouth agape, _"what the fuck, we're fucking shape shifters?!"_ I inwardly scream in excitement. "D…does the mean that I can do that?"

Cat Shio jumps unto my lap and rubs her head against my chin, "of course kitten, but not yet, it's a lot harder to shift into animals than it is people, your Otosan and I will teach you everything we know in time, just right now you'll have to work on your leaf exercises okay."

I nod stiffly, my head still spinning while trying to wrap my head around this revelation, "o…okay," I manage to say.

I hear cat Shio giggle before silently leaping from my lap and unto the floor, "we'll talk about this more later, right now I need to finish dinner," Shio says before she walks silently towards her room.

* * *

It was the next day and Shio was finally finishing up her work for the day, as she stood up from her chair she let out a small yawn while she stretched her legs that had fallen asleep from hours of sitting in the same place.

"Shio dear could you come into my office," an older sounding woman said from behind Shio.

Shio turned around and walked towards the direction of the voice, she turned a corner and walked into a very neat office space that had a large wooden desk and red painted walls. Sitting behind the wooden desk was a small woman who looked to be in her late sixties with her white hair tied up into a top knot that was kept in place by a pick with small bells tied to it.

Upon Shio entering her office the woman smiled toothlessly at the young woman, "Shio my dear I have a favor to ask of you," the woman said.

"What do you need Niwano-san?" Shio asked politely.

"The special order that you finished for Maharishi-san needs to be delivered to Konoha by the end of the week, I need you to deliver the order for me, I would do so myself but these old bones don't move like they used to." Niwano informed.

Shio frowned at this, "Niwano-san surly a team of Genin or even one of your other assistance are more than capable of delivering the order, they would even be faster and more efficient than me."

Niwano shook her head, "yes that may be true but a Genin team won't advertise for me would they and you know as well as I do that the other girls are less than reliable." At seeing Shio's frown grow slightly the old woman attempted a different tactic. "Shio my dear I need you, I want to be able to afford to go back home to Konoha, the Kyuubi took everything from me, letting the people of Konoha know that old Niwano Nishi is still alive will see our business flood with customers."

At this Shio sighed, "the roads are dangerous Niwano-san, I do not feel safe enough to do this," Shio admitted.

Niwano reached over from behind her desk and with great effort on her part lifted a box wrapped in decretive blue paper and set it down with a thud on the desk. " Not to worry my dear, the Daimyo himself should be making his way towards Konoha for the Chunin exams as we speak, if the messenger was correct than our Lord and his retainers will be passing near our village along the main road in just a few days. I know from experience that the Daimyo is gracious enough to extend the protection of his own personal Samurai guard towards the common folk who follow his precession." At Shio's continued hesitance Niwano decided to give her final offer, "with each new customer that you bring to my store I will pay you a bonus of forty thousand ryo per customer, Shio my dear this money will help you achieve the dream that you so want for yourself and family. You can see Isamu grow up comfortably, have grandchildren to spoil, I know of your mistrust of ninja but I'm not asking you to trust them, I'm asking you to trust me."

With this Shio finally caved and with a heavy sigh she took the package off of the desk, "I will need to tell my husband of this, but I do owe you for giving me a chance all of those years ago."

At this Niwano smiled a toothless grin, "thank you so much my dear, you warm this old woman's heart."  
Shio bowed slightly to her boss without another word and left her store with an annoyed frown on her face.

* * *

It was late afternoon and Ietaka and I were sitting cross legged on the floor of the living room. Ietaka had his hand in front of him, every few seconds I could see his fingernails slowly grow longer into sharp claws and shrink back to normal form.

"You see son this is why the leaf exercise is important, when you change your form its often the small details that are most important, but these small details require very precise chakra control. Sticking that leaf on your forehead trains your chakra to act in a way that it wouldn't normally, do you understand?" Ietaka informed.

I nodded, my eyes still watching Ietaka grow or shrink each of his fingernails on his right hand with just a thought, "when will you teach me to change like you and Kaasan can do?" I ask.

Ietaka hummed at that, "well son you are making very good progress with your exercise, I won't be surprised that your chakra control would be ready within the year, but shifting hurts at first, you can start to build up what is called a pain tolerance, meaning it won't hurt so much the more you shift. So even if your chakra might be ready within the year your body won't be ready to do a full shift until you are at least six or seven years old, but even then I don't think we'll try animals until you are at least ten."

I frowned at that, _"damn I'm so close to getting probably the greatest power one could ever hope for yet I'm still so far away."_ I lament.

It was at this moment the front door opened and in walked an annoyed looking Shio carrying what looked to be a Christmas gift in her arms, "Ietaka we need to talk," she said in a clipped tone before marching off down the hallway and into the office room.

Ietaka sighed heavily, "I hope I'm not in trouble," I heard him mutter as he stood up and followed his wife.

I looked confused at this behavior, Shio always struck me as a patient woman so whatever has her in this mood must be really serious. I tried not to let it bother me though and attempted to go back to my leaf sticking exercises.

I was able to make the largest leap in progress to this date, the knowledge of my bloodline having reinvigorated my drive to get this exercise down. As of right now I could hold the leaf on my head for a full minute and ten seconds. _"seventy eight…seventy nine…eighty…eighty one…eighty two…eigh-"_ my concentration was broken when I heard a muffled shout coming from the office room.

I glared at the leaf that had fallen into my lap as if it had personally offended me, "son of a bitch, they better not be having a domestic in there," I mutter to myself as I get up from my sitting position and slowly and silently make my way towards the office room. I could see that the door was completely shut, but luckily the upside of being so small is that I could listen through the crack under the door without laying on my stomach and giving away my position.

"Shio-chan this is absurd, Konoha is the last place we should be right now, we don't know if those ninja saw what Isamu could do," It was Ietaka, he was probably as angry as he sounded

"Don't you think I know that Ietaka-kun, but if I don't do this then it'll look suspicious, and besides, we could use the extra money, remember its always annoyed us that our emergency fund has been small, we could use this money to start over again if we really need it." I heard Shio reply.

"I don't trust these ninja Shio-chan, and you want us to walk into the veritable lion's den," Ietaka replied.

I heard Shio's heavy sandals stomp hard onto the wooden floor, her voice shouting so loudly that I'm sure could be heard all throughout the house. "I know just how dangerous these people are Ietaka, I am the last person you should be lecturing about this! But it shouldn't matter if we trust them or not, they don't know these faces, they don't know who Shio and Ietaka are, we changed our lives dozens of times sense we disappeared! We have a chance to be normal, to not have to run, this can be our real home, where we can have that big family we always wanted, and if that means dealing with ninja from time to time than that's a fair sacrifice for our happiness."

I hear Ietaka sigh heavily before replying in an even tone, "I'm not sure about this Shio-chan, but…I've followed you into worse, and I'll be damned if I let you go alone."

I heard Shio's sandals clonk loudly and stop where I heard the sound of Ietaka's voice "I know honey, we will be alright like we always are. But what will we do with Isamu-chan, I don't want him out of our sight, he isn't ready to be alone yet," Shio sounded worried.

"He'll have to come with us for however long we are there, we'll have to be extra careful though," as I heard Ietaka say this my heart skipped a beat.

" _Me going to Konoha, so soon, right now?!"_ I was inwardly doing backflips.

"I guess that's the best arrangement we can do, we could call it his early birthday gift," at Shio's admission I paused.

" _Birthday…I don't even know my birthday do I? I mean I couldn't really understand anyone a year ago so yeah I guess I must have missed it,"_ I mused.

I began to walk away from the door having gotten all of the information that I wanted, I couldn't help but to smile at the thought of going to Konoha, it was like being told you were going to Disney world and all of the rides had short lines. _"Should I go find Naruto, should I make friends with some of the other kids from the rookie nine, could I even single handedly restore Konoha-Uchiha relations and stop the coup from ever being planned?!"_ I snort at that line of thought.

" _Yeah sure let me just ease nearly a hundred years of ethnic tension, id have a better chance at reuniting Yugoslavia."_ I think to myself with a chuckle.

* * *

Two more days have come and gone and while I have been practicing my leaf exercises, Ietaka and Shio have been busy packing, planning, and making arrangements with old lady Niwano. Apparently at least Shio will be staying in Konoha for a maximum of three months. I heard Shio saying something like Niwano wants her back in the store at least a month before the Kyuubi festival and or memorial day in October, don't really know what October tenths is called by the people of Konoha. So far I don't know if I'm going to stay with Shio or come back in a few weeks' time when Ietaka eventually has to return to resume his duties as captain of the local guard. Thankfully our housing is being paid for by Shio's boss, something about Niwano having a friend that owes her a favor or something to that effect.

At the moment I was waiting almost impatiently at the front door, feeling excitement buzz all through my body. I could hear Shio and Ietaka's sandals clonk on the wooden floor towards my direction, they both walked out of there room and looked at me with a smile. "Alright we're all packed," Shio announced.

I look at them questioningly, they had no packs on them to speak of, and I know for a fact that Shio made Ietaka help her pack practically the families entire wardrobe. "Uhh, no backpacks?" I asked with my head tilted.

Ietaka patted a belt that had several small scrolls that poked out through cylindrical holsters that lined his waist. "you're Kaasan is really smart, she was able to put all of our cloths inside of these scrolls."

I raised an eyebrow, _"I didn't know Shio knew fuinjutsu, could she teach me?"_ I wondered.

I see Shio giggled at my incredulous expression, "Ietaka-kun you make it sound so dramatic, really all of the girls at Niwano-san's shop know at least a little bit of sealing, we have to if we want to serve the occasional Shinobi customers."

Despite Shio trying to downplay her knowledge of the subject I nevertheless was still very much interested. _"Sealing is something I can work on right now when I'm not doing the leaf exercise, Shio could teach me and I could be an over powered badass before the age of twelve!"_ I yell inwardly.

I run up to Shio excitedly, "Kaasan could you teach me, can you please?!" I ask, throwing in the puppy dog eyes just in case.

Shio smiled towards me, "well sweetie I'm not…" I could see her resolve waver the longer she looked at me, "o…okay honey, but it won't be easy, and you'll have to finish learning how to write before we start."

I nod excitedly, I knew that I would have to become fluent in kanji first but at least I got her to agree to teach me. Even if she isn't a master knowing at least the basics of fuinjutsu would be worth it..

I saw Ietaka nod towards Shio, "a little birdy told me that the precession will be nearing the main road in a few hours' time, we should start heading towards there now."

I could see Ietaka and Shio exchange a knowing look at the 'little birdy' comment but decided it wasn't important, _"probably a shape shifter pun…o God I get the feeling that puns are going to be a big part of my life aren't they?"_ I worried internally.

As I was having an episode of existential dread I barely felt Shio scoop me up in her arms and walk out the door, the light of the morning sun blazing in my eyes jarred me out of my short stupor.

As we walked away from our house and unto the road, I could see the various people of the village smile and wish us all safe travels, every one of the well wishes felt genuine and heartfelt. It was still strange to me that my neighbors and fellow man actually cared enough to wish us well, growing up I the twenty first century I got used to everyone being indifferent to each other. No one talked to one another in real life unless they wanted something from someone else, but here everyone treats each other like family, it honestly felt like I had a whole big family in this village, I loved it. I loved going to family reunions in my past life, reconnecting with family members whether they be cousins that where practically siblings or long estranged, 'how are you related to me,' type family members I didn't care. To me family and community have always been important so coming here and going from an uncaring, almost apathetic society to one of warmth and honest respect was like being given a cup of water in the desert.

A smile I didn't know I had on only grew when I saw a woman, who I barely even knew rushed out of her house in a hurry just to stop us just to give us a few homemade muffins for the road, which we graciously accepted and ate on the way out of the village.

Before we officially left the area however, both Shio and Ietaka slowed once we reached the tree line that surrounded the small village, I could see a dirt road that lead off into the woods that disappeared around a bend a ways down. Ietaka walked towards a tree and kneeled down, "excuse me, Hitari… could I ask a favor of you?"

I looked towards Ietaka in confusion, _"Why is he talking to a tree…don't tell me we're proper druids and can talk to trees too."_

I heard a rustling of leafs at the base of the tree, Ietaka backed up slightly from his crouched position, allowing me to see just beyond his shoulder and into a small hole at the base of the tree trunk. "Ugh what do you want now Ietaka, can't you see I'm busy sleeping?" A small yet annoyed voice answered.

I saw Ietaka look back towards my direction and roll his eyes in exasperation, I felt Shio giggle slightly as she still held me in her arms. "The family and I are going away for a bit, could you watch our den while we're away please." I could see that Ietaka was trying to keep an amicable tone to his voice while talking with this strange Hitari person.

There was more rustling under the tree just then I saw two slitted yellow eyes glowing in the shadow of the tree base. "O yeah…what's in it for me?" Hitari questioned.

"Well for one we will allow you to stay In our den while we're away, and I happen to have a very plump and freshly killed rabbit that I am willing to part with." Ietaka offered.

At this the figure in the base of the tree emerged licking its lips, my eyes widened when I saw that Ietaka has been having an entire conversation with a red fox, and not only that but I could also _understand_ this red fox too. _"what the hell? Is this another Kaizen in disguise…I thought we were the only ones!"_ I looked up at Shio in utter confusion.

"Kaasan," I begin slowly, still trying to wrap my head around this situation. Shio looks down at me with an amused smile.

"Yes Isamu-chan?" She asked, as if the question wasn't obvious.

"Uhh, I thought you said we were the only ones…that could…you know." We were technically still out in public, despite the weirdness at display I still felt the need to hold at least a modicum of subtly, I guess Shio's paranoia is rubbing off on me.

Shio giggled at my question, "no need to worry Isamu-chan, Hitari here is an old…acquaintance of ours, would you like me to introduce you?" She asked.

I just nodded slowly, Shio then let me down gently before she softly nudged me in the fox's directing.

"Hitari I would like you to meet our Kit, Isamu, Isamu this is Hitari," Shio introduced as I walked towards Ietaka and the fox

Hitari turned his head towards me, the fox smiled slyly at me, "O ho didn't know Ietaka had it in em, how ya doin Kit?" The fox introduced with a raise of his paw.

I approached the fox, I was never scared of animals in my past life, but hearing one talk is something that I wasn't prepared for, even with my knowledge of summons being a thing in this world. "Uhh hi…uhh Hitari." I grabbed the foxes outreached paw gently and shook it up and down.

I felt Ietaka scoot closer to me and gently put his hands on my shoulders, "now Isamu I want you to know that nobody but our family can talk to animals like we can, its apart of our special power that we talked about." Ietaka clarified for me.

My eyes widened slightly at that, "so…I can talk to every animal?" I ask in excitement. _"My dreams have come true, I can finally make friends with all of the forest creatures, play poker with sharks, shoot the shit with the local strays, debate philosophy with turtles, all of the possibilities!"_ This was almost as exiting as the whole shape shifter thing.

I hear Hitari snort at me, "yeah, apparently you and you're family are the only humies smart enough to figure out how to talk with us regular animals, but don't for one second go thinking that just cause you can talk to every animal you meet that any of us give a rats ass about you or your problems. We got better shit to do, like surviving and ma-" Hitari was cut short by a loud clearing of the throat by Shio.

"I think Isamu gets it Hitari," Shio's glare could have decayed the bark on a tree.

Hitari chuckles nervously, "ahh, what I mean to say is…yeah I'll watch your den. So where's that rabbit you were talking about?"

Ietaka pulls out one of the scrolls on his belt and opens it, a second later a fat black furred rabbit that looked like its neck had been snapped materialized out of a poof of smoke. Not a second later Hitari lunged at the rabbit and drug the carcass back to his hole.

"Remember our deal Hitari, don't just fall asleep after eating that rabbit and forget all about your job." Ietaka called out.

I heard a muffed, "mmmhmmm" come from the hole.

Ietaka stood up with a sigh, "well that's the best we can hope for right now, I'd prefer it if we had a few birds of prey to watch our house but all of them are ass-" Ietaka was cut off by Shio clearing her throat once again.

"I…I mean, but all of them are rude," he clarified with a strained smile.

Shio looked pleased before she scooped me up again and we continued our trek towards Konoha.

* * *

 **Like I said in the last chapter I won't be info dumping the details of the Kaizen bloodline in a wall of text or even in one chapter, I'd like to sprinkle in some details here and there over the next chapters and leave the history of his clan to be found later in the story.**

 **We got to know a bit more about his main ability and the added bonus of him being able to talk with animals, a trait that I have always liked in fiction but I think is very much overlooked and underrated.**

 **I think I've said this before but this will be a slow burn this story, I like to flush out characters and detail scenes that I deem important or worthy of note. Too many self inserts like to summarize events rather than tell a story, people get too caught up in 'who's more powerful than who' or 'what does this power do?' I don't like that, I want a story with characters and plot. Training regimens and power ups aren't even on the top five of my priority list for this story.**

 **Lastly I would like to thank everyone who followed and favorite this story. A very special thanks to everyone who has reviewed so far, I read every review, when I publish new chapters and see that notification on my phone when someone reviewed my story makes my day brighter. All that I ask of reviewers is to write something worth your time to write, I wouldn't want to waste anyone's time with a story that they didn't like so if you didn't find this story entertaining than I'm sorry but I know you will find something better, there is plenty on this site worth reading.**

 **Thank you all once again, I'm sorry it's been a while sense I've last updated, not a week after my last update I ended up sick and in the hospital, that drained me of any and all inspiration and it took me months to get back in the groove of things. But if you are reading this now it means that I have at least a month worth of chapters already written so you all should be able to read a more consistent story, at least for this month.**

 **I hope you all come back for the next chapter and have a good day!**


	4. A Warm Welcome

**Shape Shifter**

 **I don't own Naruto, Naruto is the property of Kishimoto Masashi and is not my intellectual property. There is no financial gain made from this nor will any be sought. This is for entertainment purposes only.**

* * *

 **A Warm Welcome**

I now know why people call this road 'the main road,' it looks about as wide as a four lane highway, it's not exactly paved however but it's well kept, I could hardly see any tree roots or underbrush overgrowing the road.

We were only waiting about half an hour before I heard the sound of hooves cantering on the road. I looked towards my right to see a man with dark red colored samurai armor that was riding on a black stallion, the warrior carried a banner adorned with a golden flame on a field of crimson red. I felt Shio stiffen slightly while Ietaka walked out a few paces towards the mounted retainer.

"Hail," I hear the voice of the Samurai speak as he rode within earshot.

Ietaka bowed lowly towards the man and Shio let me down from her arms quickly, "bow sweaty, its rude to be disrespectful to these men," Shio whispered.

I followed her instruction and bowed lowly to the man, even if it made the Texan in me cringe to do so. _"I don't think I can ever get used to bowing, lived too long in the free world to ever be comfortable bowing to anyone."_

Once we righted ourselves Ietaka spoke up, "blessed day to you Samurai-sama, my family and I are traveling towards Konoha for business."

The Samurai stopped a few yards away from Ietaka, "than fortune smile on your family, our great Lord has allowed his subjects to follow his precession to Konoha."

Ietaka bowed once more, prompting Shio and I to follow suit, "O thank you Samurai-sama, our Lord is most gracious." Ietaka said humbly.

The Samurai's horse walked closer towards us, "stay here and wait for our Lord's precession to pass, you will see the other of your folk who follow in his grace, be glad, for you will honor your family by being in Kaneko-sama's presence this day." The retainer spoke before he turned his horse down the road and continued his path.

Once well out of ear shot I heard Ietaka mumble, "I always hated those self-righteous pricks,"

Shio picked me up in her arms once again and walked towards Ietaka, "look alive Ietaka-kun, I can see more of them coming," Shio said.

She was right for not a moment later more mounted Samurai turned the bend down the road and into our sights, there were six walking abreast, each of them holding the same banner, "the Fire Daimyo likes to make an impression doesn't he?" Ietaka asked rhetorically.

Once the six Samurai approached Shio once again set me back down however she never let go of my hand. We bowed once again to the passing Samurai, none of which gave us the time of day, their proud faces looking down the road while occasionally glancing into the forest. A moment later another six passed, we bowed again, after a third time bowing to yet another six mounted Samurai a new sound greeted my ears.

A flute was being played, it was an upbeat tune that carried well with the tempo of walking horse hooves. I looked down the road to see a litter draped with deep crimson silks lined with what looks to be gold. Outside of the Litter I saw short and skinny man, clothed in a bright orange and yellow outfit happily dancing and playing the flute, the man moved so smoothly and quickly it was plane to see he was a professional.

Once the litter passed in front of us we bowed once again but this time it was a noticeably deeper bow that we gave the Samurai. "Keep your head low Isamu-chan, and don't look up, eye contact with the Fire Daimyo is very disrespectful." Shio whispered.

Our heads stayed bowed as more of the proceeding Samurai passed us, once the sound of hooves and flutes grew distant we finally felt safe enough to raise our heads. I looked down the road once more to see a group of at least a hundred people following the precession, they looked like normal salt of the earth folk so I knew this was the group we were supposed to travel with for the coming days.

Shio scooped me up once again, "alright Isamu-chan you listen, you are not allowed to walk far away from us, do not talk to anyone without us with you, do you understand?" Shio stressed.

I nodded but inwardly I sighed, _"I know why they're paranoid but damn it if it isn't annoying."_ I lament.

All three of us where suddenly surprised when a gruff voice coming from behind us spoke up, "will you be traveling with us to Konoha?"

Faster than I could even process Shio had me on my feet and was standing protectively in front of me while Ietaka was right behind me with his hand on his hip.

"Whoa, it's alright I'm just a part of the guard protecting the people following the procession." The voice spoke.

I looked from behind Shio's legs and held in a gasp, this was not how I was expecting to meet Asuma Sarutobi. He looked younger, in his late teens maybe but there is no doubting that this man was the real deal.

Shio and Ietaka relaxed once they realized it was only a Konoha ninja, "sorry, you scared us," Shio said. It was then that I realized that Shio had taken out a dagger and had it pointed at Asuma.

Said ninja had the decency to look sheepish, "it's no problem, but are you coming with the group or not, I need to know for security reasons."

Ietaka stepped forward, "yes we are, we have business in Konoha," he said.

Asuma nodded, "what business may I ask," he questioned before he took out a cigarette and began to light it.

Shio who had already put her dagger away lifted me back into her arms, "I work for Niwano Nishi's tailoring, I'm supposed to deliver an order and advertise for her." Shio answered.

Asuma raised an eyebrow at that, "I assume the package is in those sealing scrolls?" He asked.

Shio nodded, "yes Niwano taught me how to make basic sealing scrolls to accommodate our Shinobi clientele," I could tell the way Shio was tensing up that she did not want to be in the conversation any longer than she has to be.

Asuma took a puff of his cancer stick, "alright, but keep that dagger to yourself ma'am, it's your right to protect yourself so I won't confiscate it, just don't let the Samurai see you have it. They do tend to take offence to armed women." He informed.

Shio nodded in acknowledgment before she walked towards the group of traveling common folk with Ietaka following right behind.

I took the opportunity to shift myself and look behind Shio's shoulder, I saw Asuma keeping an eye on us the entire time, even when we kept in pace with the crowed and even after he disappeared into the trees above I couldn't shake the feeling of being watched.

* * *

Two days of travel and word has finally reached down the precession that we were nearing Konoha. Excitement filled me once again, I was practically jumping with joy while I wanted to walk faster, Shio kept me on a tight leash.

It was hard not being allowed to go outside of eyesight of either Ietaka or Shio for the past two days, granted I realize why. Being surrounded by strangers, knowing that anyone of them could be a rouge Shinobi in disguise just waiting for the perfect moment to pounce, it still doesn't mean that I have to like being watched all the time.

As we neared a crest of a small hill on the road Asuma stepped in front of the crowd of us common folk and address us all. "Alright everyone, you will see the gate of Konoha just beyond this hill, I want everyone to make two lines in an orderly manner and keep walking at a normal pace, the gate guards will ask you for your name and reason for being in the village. Don't worry it's just how we run things, if you are a client looking to higher Shinobi please say so and the guards will tell you where you can go to fill out a contract."

After that everyone shuffled into two lines, Shio, Ietaka, and I where on the left line near the middle, once everyone was situated we began to walk towards Konoha once again.

When we crest the hill my eyes widened at the sight of the largest wall I had ever seen, it looked to stand at least five hundred feet tall and it was so wide that I couldn't even see where it ended. The two large doors were opened and I could see the first of the mounted Samurai guards entering the gates.

As we walked closer the trees gradually grew taller and cast the road in shadow. I could hear the wind pick up, the sound of thousands of leaves rustling and branches creaking made it sound as if the forest itself was greeting me. In the corner of my eyes I could see dozens of silhouettes jump from branch to branch, a few where just slow enough for me to catch a flash of dark green jump overhead from one side of the road to the other. It was amazing, I looked up at the forest with wide eyes, I was able to spot a crouching figure watching the passing precession but in a flash the figure was gone without a sound.

" _Just think, hundreds of ninja could be in those trees right now and I wound never know about them unless they wanted me to,"_ It was insane just how sneaky they really are. In the Naruto series you don't get too many opportunities to see just how stealthy a Shinobi really is, I guess sense the title character is so damn loud all the time you don't really get to appreciate the actual ninja aspects of the show.

I felt Shio grip my hand tighter as we approach the gates, the sheer size of the walls were shocking, I was craning my neck and I still couldn't see the top.

"Name and reason for entering the village?"I heard a bored voice speak.

"Ietaka, I am here with my wife Shio and my son Isamu, we are here to watch the Chunin exams and for business." Ietaka responded.

I saw the Konoha Shinobi, someone that I didn't recognize, write something down in a large log book.

"Okay and what is the duration of your stay?" The same Shinobi asked.

"I will be staying for two weeks, Shio will be staying for three months, Isamu will be staying with Shio for the three months," Ietaka answered.

The Shinobi wrote more on in his log book, "alright you're free to go, have a good stay in Konoha."

"Thank you," Shio and Ietaka said simultaneously.

We walked inside of the gate and onto the paved stone road that lead into the village, once we walked a few paces the sounds and smells of the village became evermore apparent. The noise of hundreds of voices speaking to one another and the sound of leaves rustling in the wind was a constant background noise that my own quite village lacked. The underlying smell of pine that was very prominent outside of the village was slightly over powered by the various scents that wafted through the streets, pastries, smoked meats, incense, flowers, and even dogs. All of this together melded to create something that was quite distinct, I am sure that this would forever stick in my memory as what Konoha smells like.

"Okay, let's go to the apartment that Niwano-san set up for us then I will go and give Kurenai-san her order." Shio said.

Ietaka hoisted me up on his shoulders and I couldn't help but laugh at the sudden feeling of being tall again. "alright, Isamu do you want to go with your Kaasan or do you want to stay and help me unpack?" Ietaka asked with a smile.

"I wanna go with Kaasan," I said.

"Aww you don't want to help your old man unpack, you could even pick your room." He offered.

I shook my head still, "nope," I said simply.

I saw Ietaka look up at me with a cheeky grin, "you just wanna go with Kaasan cause you think Kurenai-san is pretty don't you?"

Well I would be lying if I said that wasn't part of it, "yep," I admit. No point in not telling the truth, at two years old nothing you do or say can be held against you, kind of gives me a confidence that I know I wouldn't have otherwise.

I hear Shio laugh, at us both as we continue our walk deeper inside of Konoha.

As we walked I could see banners hanging above streets that said, 'welcome visitors,' and 'Chunin exam specials!" Colorful streamers and ribbons decorated the shops and houses, there were people busking on the side of the streets and along the large main road, musicians, fortune tellers, dancers, and even puppeteers all entertained.

Ietaka's voice jarred me out of starring at a blind fortuneteller shuffling a deck of tarot cards under a small yellow tent, "don't worry Isamu, we'll do whatever you want on your birthday tomorrow ."

I blinked in surprise, "my birthday's tomorrow?" I asked.

Ietaka chuckled, bouncing me slightly when he did so, "of course it is son, Jun twelfth."

" _June Twelfth, it isn't May but at least it's still a summer month, I fucking hate winter."_ I muse.

* * *

It took us twenty minutes to find the apartment building, sense I'm not sure that concrete is a thing or not I can assume that the building was made with a combination of wood and possibly earth jutsu and painted over to be colored beige.

We entered the building and walked to the receptionist behind a large desk, "hello, I was told to give you this note," Shio greeted before she took out an envelope from inside of her blouse.

The overweight man with long droopy jowls took the envelope in his pudgy hands and opened it. After a few moments of reading through the note the man nodded, "alright everything seems to be in order," he began before he opened a draw on his desk and pulled out a key that had a sting attached to a piece of paper. "You are in apartment two forty seven on the second floor, if anything needs to be fixed just come to me."

Shio thanked the man and we headed up the stairs, a moment later we were at the door and Shio unlocked the apartment. We were greeted by a fairly spacious and already furnished living room, separated by a half wall was a kitchen with a wood table that look like it could seat four people comfortably. The windows were open letting the fresh air in and bathed both the kitchen and living room in a warm light. I walked inside the apartment after Ietaka and Shio, I could see that to the right was a single hallway, that had four doors, Shio opened the door at the end of the hallway, it was obviously going to be their room with the large bed in the center of the room. I opened a door to my right and saw that it was a bathroom that had a tub and shower combo, Ietaka opened the door on the left directly across the bathroom, I could see that this was going to be my room. One twin sized bed and a dresser was all that was in it, the last door in the apartment that I opened was a small storage closet.

Shio stepped out of her new room while Ietaka made himself busy with putting the scrolls that was on his hip on the bed and unsealing them. "Okay sweetie we are going to find Kurenai-san, it might take a while, so if we don't see her by late afternoon we're heading back here." Shio informed. She then put a scroll on the table.

" _Where does she keep everything? I don't see any pockets on her,"_ I wonder.

A second later the same blue package that I saw four days ago materialized out of smoke, Shio gripped the package with both hands, "okay Isamu-chan stay close to me," I follow her to the door and help Shio open it, "thank you Ietaka-kun, we'll be back before sundown," She called before the door closed and we headed out to find Kurenai.

* * *

We had been walking around for an hour and no luck, either nobody we asked knew where Kurenai was or they didn't even know about her. _"Well she is still a Chunin, maybe she just hasn't made a name for herself yet."_ I wonder.

It was now afternoon and my stomach decided to make itself known, "Why don't we find something to eat?" Shio suggested.

I couldn't agree more, we walked for a few minutes until Shio found a place with reasonable prices, it was a kebab and dango place. The place wasn't all that packed so we were able to find a seat, I'm still two however so I need a booster seat.

Once we were waiting on our food I took this opportunity to look around the restaurant, there were a number of different people here, mostly people that looked to have run the nearby shops but I do spot a few ninja. Actually there was a at table with a few of em only a few yards away, two Kunoichi and a Shinobi sat at the table. My eyes locked in on the one with the wavy black hair, I couldn't confirm it but when the she turned towards the waiter serving her I got a glimpse of the side of her face. _"Pale face, red eyes, black hair, I found her."_

"Kaasan," I said to get Shio's attention, once Shio looked away from the window I continued, "I found her, over there." I pointed.

Shio looked back to where I was pointing, "finally, alright honey lets-" but before Shio could finish her sentence Kurenai was already on her way to our table.

"O Shio-san, what an unexpected surprise," Kurenai said friendly.

I blink bewilderedly at the suddenness of Kurenai's greeting, _"I didn't even see her get up from the table."_

Shio stood from her seat and picked up the blue package, "Niwano-san sent me to deliver this to you, I hope it's to your liking."

Kurenai's smile widened at the sight of her order, "o thank you Shio-san, if its anything like the prototype you showed me than it will do just nicely."

It was then that the other Kunoichi that was sitting with Kurenai made herself known, "O what ya got there, a present?" She questioned.

I immediately recognized Anko Mitarashi even without her signature tan trench coat and at this young an age, she looked to be about fourteen or so.

Kurenai turned to Anko, "actually it is a present, welcome home Anko-chan!" Kurenai said while giving the present to the purple haired girl.

Anko's eyes widened in surprise, she took the box gingerly in her hands, "y…you didn't have to," Anko said just loud enough for me to hear from my booster seat.

"Open it," I couldn't stop myself from saying, I had to know what it was at this point.

Anko looked up from the package and gave me a smirk, "alright why don't you help me kid," she said before she set the box down on our table and we both ripped away at the paper. Once Anko opened the box the girl gasped lightly, she reached into the box as if she was trying not to wake a sleeping bear.

Out of the box Anko pulled out a tan trench coat, I could tell that she was fighting to keep tears held back. "It's amazing," Anko said.

Kurenai giggled, "I knew it was your style, Shio here made it special order," she informed.

Anko looked towards Shio with watery eyes, "thank you," she said.

Shio smile at the girl, "it's nothing, there is a storage seal in each of the sleeves and one on the inside of the coat that makes it heat resistant so it keeps you cool during these summer months." She explained.

Anko put on the trench coat and struck a cheesy nice guy pose, "does it look good on me?" she asked aloud.

"It looks amazing on you," Kurenai answered.

Anko rubbed the back of her head in embarrassment from her friends' praise before she quickly pulled Kurenai into a hug.

From my angle I could tell that she was telling Kurenai something but she was too quiet and the restaurant too loud for me to hear anything.

Once Anko pulled away from the hug she quickly wiped her eyes and thanked Shio one last time before she walked back to her table, "hey loser check out what I got." I heard her say aloud to the only one left at her table, a man I sort of recognized, he had circular sunglasses and an annoyed look on his face.

" _Is that Konohamaru's future sensei?"_ I wonder.

Kurenai turned towards Shio, "thanks again, this means so much to my friend, if there is anything I can do please tell me." The brunette offered.

Shio smiled at that, "well Kurenai-san my boss wants me to stay here in Konoha for a while to adversities for her, if you could tell your friends about Niwano Nishi's tailoring and make sure they use my name when ordering it would go a long way to helping me out."

Kurenai nodded, "I will remember that Shio-san, I know a few woman that would love to have a quality dress or two. I should get back to my meal, thank you again," with that Kurenai left for her table.

" _I wonder just how many other character I'll get to interact with before I head back home?"_ I wonder as I watch Kurenai sit at her table.

* * *

 **So this chapter isn't meant to give anything ground breaking for the story, I don't think every chapter has to have some crazy reveal or an agonizing cliff hanger. I don't like stories that time skip over character development, it feels like the characters don't exist outside of the scenes that the authors want to use them for. I know by now a lot of authors of OC stories would have had their character in the Academy or revealing ground breaking things for their characters by now but this isn't that story and I'm not those authors.**

 **That being said I don't want to bog down the story at the same time, I don't want to be in a situation where I'm 50 chapters in the story and canon hasn't even started yet. I will put in time skips here and there, but I don't like situations where the author just summarizes events, for example. 'And they both became close friends over these few months and now it's okay if I show these characters kissing in this scene even though they were practically strangers in the last chapter but it's okay because I'm the author and I said they became close, what you want to see development? No fuck you I'm the author and if I say they are close they're close!' I hate authors that do that. If you want to summarize events and give nothing of substance in your story than write a history essay.**

 **Lastly thank you all once again for reading, those people who favorite and followed I thank you all very much. An even greater thank you to those who reviewed, you spent the time out of your day to give my little story more attention. It feels wonderful knowing that people care enough to leave a review, thank you all once again and have a good day.**


	5. Happy Birthday

**Shape Shifter**

 **I don't own Naruto, Naruto is the property of Kishimoto Masashi and is not my intellectual property. There is no financial gain made from this nor will any be sought. This is for entertainment purposes only.**

 **Happy Birthday**

I woke the next day to the smell of steamed rice and curry, I slowly got out of my twin sized bed and stretched my little three year old body.

Yawning loudly I opened my door and walked into the large room that housed both the kitchen and the living room area of the apartment. I saw Shio humming to herself as she finished placing the plates full of food down on the table. The young woman's eyes brightened when she saw me, "good morning birthday boy, how did you sleep?" She asked.

I walked towards the chair that had a few pillows acting as a booster seat on it and sat down, "it was fine, but what are we going to do for my birthday?" I asked with a smile.

Shio sat down on the other end of the table as she answered me, "whatever you want sweetie, there's games and puppeteers all over for the Chunin exams."

I pondered what I wanted to do for my birthday, I knew I didn't want to visit all of the cool sites in Konoha in one day. I'm going to be here for a while, might as well do things that aren't normally in Konoha and visit all of the other cool places later. "What's a Chunin exams?" I ask, I have to remember that I'm not supposed to know these things and Isamu has never heard of a Chunin exams before until this week.

Shio places her elbows on the table and holds her head in her hands before answering, "the Chunin exams are a test of a ninja's abilities, Shinobi from all around the world come and fight in a big arena to see which village has the best new ninja." Shio explains.

I nod in understanding, " _I knew all that, but how does Shio know, I have to figure out if they were from a ninja village or not_." I muse.

"Wow Kaasan you must be really smart to know all this stuff, where you a ninja?" I ask with feigned excitement.

Shio's smile drops lightly for a second before she forces it back into place, but I could tell it was strained from the way she closed her eyes. "My parents taught me a lot of what I know, they showed me the leaf sticking exercise that you are practicing now, they were really smart people, they would have loved you."

I felt a pang of annoyance at her evasiveness, _"I'm her son damnit, if there is anyone she should trust it's me!"_

"So were they ninja, where were they from, did you used to live in a big village like this?" I asked.

Shio sighed at my questioning, "our family was from all over, we moved around a lot. When the bad people came, the ones that were left ran away. Your Otosan and I we...well we're lucky. You have to remember Isamu that no one can know of who you are and what you can do. The bad people will stop at nothing to take you away from us if they knew about who we were, I wish I could tell you more but in these big villages you never know who could be listening." Shio explained seriously.

It's at this moment the entrance to the apartment is opened and in walks Ietaka with his hands full of brown paper bags, "I got the groceries, you wouldn't believe all the things they have at the market. Almost as much as the grand bazar of Roran," Ietaka spoke humorously. He then set the bags down on the kitchen counter and rustled my hair, "happy birthday buddy," I returned the gesture with a grin.

" _Roran…isn't that from one of the movies…so does that mean I'm in the Shonen version of Naruto and not Kishimoto's canon? Or am I in the mix of the two…fuck I never read any of the novels or played any of the games, does that mean shit that happened in the games will happen here, and does that mean the filler exist too?"_ I pondered.

Shio's laugh jars me out of my musings, "o yeah I remember Roran, wasn't that back when you wanted to marry the queen or something," she asked amusedly.

"No that was back when I was trying to make the five, marriage had nothing to do with it," Ietaka said with a grin as he poured milk into our empty glasses.

" _Make the five…wait…is that like trying to make the eight in A song of Ice and Fire, damn, Ietaka was a player."_ I laugh inwardly.

Shio looked annoyed at Ietaka, "Ietaka-kun not in front Isamu-chan, he doesn't need to hear about your… sleazy days." She said, trying to censor as much as she could.

Ietaka chuckled at her and looked towards me, "son there may come a time that you meet many different women in the world, just know that everyone only gets one true love. It took me decades but I finally figured out that mine was your mother." Ietaka spoke wisely.

"Look at you trying to win points," Shio smiled as she reached over the table and held Ietaka's hand.

I smiled at the pair, _"I wish I had what they had…well I did…but…"_ I shake my head, trying to free myself from those thoughts, _"fuck cancer,"_ I blink my eyes rapidly, forcing them not to water. I quickly drank a gulp of my milk as my throat had become very dry. _"distract yourself… ask them about their past, three years with these people and you know fuck all about them."_

I clear my throat quietly, "how did you and Kaasan meet Otosan?" I ask.

Ietaka pulled his eyes from Shio's and looked toward me, "it was a long time ago, I actually didn't know your mother was a K-" Ietaka quickly cleared his throat at the quick look Shio gave him, "who she was when we met. Hehe…she actually tried to kill me, more than once actually." Ietaka said as he rubbed his cheek as if massaging an old wound.

My eyes went wide as I looked at the pair astonishment, "why'd you try to kill Otosan Kaasan?"

Shio chuckled awkwardly as she took a small sip from her glass, "it's a long story… like your Otosan said we didn't know about each other. It was a different time back then, members of our family were rare. Not as rare as it is now but I went most of my life without seeing another person like me besides my parents until I meet your Otosan. But we became friends as soon as I saw his necklace and he showed me who he was," she explained.

I frowned at this, _"they talk so much but are really saying very little. I need details, were they ninja, why were they enemies, who did they fight for?"_ I ponder.

"Otosan should have been nice when he met Kaasan, then she wouldn't have tried to hurt you," I accuse, hoping that making him defensive would give me information.

"Hey now I was very nice, I asked her name, what she was doing, where she came from, and I even gave her hot meals and flowers." Ietaka explained

" _Why does it sound like Ietaka had her prisoner?"_ I ask myself, I slightly leaned away, weirded out by his explanation.

I hear Shio sigh, "aww yes, I remember those times, love can come from the most strange places Isamu-chan. Your Otosan and I were enemies at the time. The people we fought for locked in a war, but your Otosan saw something in me. He was very nice to me when he didn't have to be. In our family it's said when you find your one true love you can recognize them no matter who they change to be. It still took us years to realize this, it's important that your know Isamu-chan that love is very important, and if you really love someone don't be silent. Tell them, life is unpredictable, scary, and dangerous, don't wait till you are sure, take a leap of faith. It will hurt if they don't feel the same but you will regret it forever if you never tell them, do you understand honey?" By the end of Shio's small lecture Ietaka and Shio once again had their eyes locked on one another.

"I understand Kaasan," I really did, I remember what love was like, _"Ietaka said that you only get one true love in your life, I hope that rule doesn't carry over for reincarnates."_

We all shake ourselves from our own thoughts eventually and go on to finish breakfast, half an hour later everyone was ready to head out to celebrate my birthday.

* * *

The village was as lively as it was yesterday, Ietaka held me atop his shoulders allowing me to see over the heads of the crowd of people that looked to be from all around the world. We passed a section of street where I saw men wearing colorful cloaks and wearing hats of different shapes, sizes, and musicians who were all playing different instruments while a young woman sung for a gathering crowed.

Ietaka must have noticed my interest as I felt him slowing down and begin to walk towards the music. I could see the musicians were playing under a sand colored tarp, the woman who's bronze colored skin was unique in this world stood out from her other band members who were all tanned but not so much as the singer. I could hear the duduk being played from an old man in a purple and red stripped cloak, the tune was slow with each note drawn out. The young woman sung just as slowly, she sung in a song of longing, a soft melody that wished to be home with her loved ones and remembering the winds of her homeland, her voice harmonizing expertly with the duduk. After hearing a few more verses of the woman's song, the tempo began to increase with the addition of a low beating drum.

Her voice became stronger, her body began to move with the music as her lyrics and new tone of the song spoke a tale of renewed hope and triumph, the chorus was strong as she sung of the rain and the hope it brings to her and her family.

The woman's song ended after a few more verses and the small crowed that had gathered clapped respectfully at the performance. "It's been a while sense I've heard the music of the desert tribes," I heard Ietaka say from below me.

Shio nodded alongside him, "they were vary giving and friendly people when I met them, always willing to share what little they had if you showed them respect." Shio added.

As I saw the old man tuck away his duduk into a leather pouch, I knew what I wanted for my birthday, "Kaasan do you think I could learn to play that one day?" I asked while pointing to the duduk player.

Shio looked up at me with a curious look, "do you want a duduk for your birthday sweetie?" She asked.

I nodded towards her happily, "yeah it sounds amazing, do you think I could get one Kaasan?"

Shio hummed, putting her hand on her cheek, "well Isamu-chan an instrument isn't a toy that you can just play with and throw away when you're bored with it. If I let you get one then you have to realize that an instrument is a responsibility, you have to take care of it properly, clean it, store it in the right places, and either learn to fix it or find someone who's able to when it breaks. But I'll find a practice one for you and if you like it and keep practicing then your Otosan and I will get a better one for you later, does that sound good?" Shio explained.

I nodded my head in understanding, I had always wanted to try the instrument, the sound it makes always calmed me and reminded me of the mountains that I loved to visit back in my old world. "I'll take good care of it I promise Kaasan," I assure.

Shio smiled up at me, "then its settled, but first lets go around and play some of the games and watch more of the shows okay." She then took the lead and led us towards a puppet show that featured chibi leaf ninja and evil chibi bad guys fighting each other. It was actually pretty impressive looking, the puppet's movements were so fluid and the strings where completely invisible and if I didn't know any better than I would think that literal chibi people where putting on a play from the way the puppets were expertly crafted.

Ietaka let me down behind a group of a dozen or so children, ages ranging from my age to about eight or so years old, all sitting cross-legged, eyes transfixed on the performance before them. I hesitated a moment before I felt Ietaka gently push me forward and I found myself walking towards the group of kids and found a spot next to an onyx haired girl. I decided to, at least for today, allow Shio and Ietaka to feel like normal parents and indulge myself in the childishness that my physical age allows me to get away with.

The little play was fairly short, only about half an hour long, the story was small and easy to follow. Konoha ninja good, bad guy is bad, Konoha ninja protects princess, bad guy kidnaped princess, Konoha ninja gets help form other Konoha ninja, Konoha ninja fight bad guy, Konoha ninja saves princess, the end. Really it wasn't taking home any Oscars in the screen play, but the visual effects are top notch, what was really amazing was how the puppeteer managed to control six chibi puppets at the same time and with such ease and skill, now that was worth watching. At the end of the play the puppeteer had all his chibi wooden cast bow at the audience, I and the crowed clapped as the little curtains on the small stage closed, it was a fun little distraction.

I stood up as all the other kids began to make their way towards their own parents or guardians, Shio walked towards me and held out her hand for me to hold, I took it and the three of us continued down the road towards a game.

I saw what it was and I instantly knew I wanted Ietaka to play, "Step right up ladies and gentlemen test you're your strength against one of Konoha's strongest shinobi in this Chunin exam celebration's arm wrestling competition!" A brightly dressed barker announced in a booming voice that easily carried over the sounds of the festival crowd.

I looked up towards Ietaka and beamed at him, "You should do that Otosan, you would win so easily!" I said excitedly.

Ietaka looked towards the barker with a frown, "I don't think so son, we don't need to draw attention to ourselves." He said.

I frown at this but I knew a father's weakness, "aw come on you're like the strongest person ever, you could totally beat any ninja," I protest. I knew his objections were sound, one could argue it was even reasonable, but why put a game up for civilians to play in if they were going to suspect every winner to be some sort of hidden enemy ninja _. "Unless that exactly what it is and its some sort of sting operation where they take note of every winner and keep an eye on them."_ Damn I must really be rubbing off on them.

We were about to walk past the arm wrestling competition when the barker spoke up once again, "come one come all, test your strength against one of Konoha's strongest shinobi, the winner gets a huge twenty pound tuna freshly caught this morning!"

I felt Shio suddenly stop in her tracks, her eyes looking intently at the area of the arm wrestling completion, "Ietaka-kun…" Shio's voice was barely a whisper.

Ietaka stopped, "why did it have to be tuna," I heard him grumble.

Shio's head turned creepily slow towards Ietaka, her pupils dilated and was giving Ietaka an unnerving smile. "You will win me that tuna," she ordered.

Ietaka sighed, "yes dear," he looked like a defeated man as he slowly made his way towards the arm wrestling competition.

The barker turned to Ietaka with a large grin upon seeing the smith approach, "my good man, come to test your muscle against this fine Shinobi?" he asked.

Shio and I moved close towards the competition, I could see the Shinobi in question, I didn't recognize him at all, he looked to be around sixteen or so, he had large muscled arms and a cocky smirk on his face.

I didn't catch Ietaka and the barker's exchange but I did see Ietaka set down some coin on the table followed by the Shinobi doing the same. "Alright I want a clean completion, keep your feet planted on the floor and no funny business," the barker informed.

Both men nodded as the two clasped their lard hands together, the barker place both his hands atop the contestants, "alright, ready, go!" The barker threw his hands into the air and jumped back a few paces from the table.

In a second the Shinobi pushed hard against Ietaka, forcing his arm down but Ietaka was able to hold on, but it was not meant to be as the Shinobi pushed hard until he had Ietaka just a half inch above the table. The muscles in Ietaka's veins bulged and a bead of sweat dropped from his brow, with a heave of force Ietaka managed to just barely budge the Shinobi's arm back. The Shinobi raised his brow in slight surprise and used more force, both men's arms flexed and Ietaka was once again force just mere centimeters above the table.

I felt Shio grip my hand slightly tighter than normal, "come on Ietaka-kun are you going to let this guy show you up in front of your own wife and son?!" I heard Shio yell, I blinked in surprise at hearing the normally reserved and patient woman raise her voice.

Shio's outburst seemed to inspire Ietaka as the man flexed his arm once again and with a yell pushed against his opponent and forced their arms back into the starting position.

I jumped when I heard a wave of cheers and applause coming from behind me, I looked back and saw about a dozen people had stopped to watch the match and were as enthralled with the display as Shio was.

The Shinobi now began to sweat and grind his teeth, with another heave the two men flexed, their clasped hands shook as both men attempted to gain the literal upper hand against their opponent. With a groan Ietaka pushed against the Shinobi, forcing his arm back to where he was just inches above his side of the table.

The crowded around us began to grow and now thirty spectators were watching the events, a large wave of cheers was meet with Ietaka gaining ground against the Shinobi. I looked around and could see the vast majority of the cheering crowed where common folk like myself, I couldn't help but feel a wave of pride coming over me seeing all of these people cheering on Ietaka.

The crowd yelled in a singular, 'oooo,' at seeing the Shinobi force Ietaka back to the starting position, I was swept up in the energy of the crowed, I couldn't help myself as I jumped up in excitement. "Come on Otosan, break his weak baby hand!" I shouted.

I heard the people that apparently heard me laugh at the sound of a little toddler squeaky voice encouraging violence. I didn't know if Ietaka actually heard me or not over the sound of the crowed but I'd like to claim responsibility for Ietaka pushing back again against the Shinobi and once again forcing him to just barely over the table's surface.

Now the two men's arms look as if they are feeling the strain, both of them now heavily leaning against the table while there biceps and forearms visibly shake. The Shinobi gave a yell and flexed his arm once again, getting himself just a half inch of room but it wasn't enough, with great effort Ietaka yelled loudly and forced Shinobi's hand down with a loud thud that shook the table.

"We have a new winner, Ietaka of Tanpo Village, a round of applause for both strong opponents!" The barker announced, the crowd cheered loudly, the satisfied faces of my fellow peasantry made it obvious that they were all pleased that one of their own finally one upped a member of a higher class.

I was dragged along as Shio made her way towards Ietaka who was just about to be handed a large wooden box, "good job honey, now about my-I mean our tuna," Shio looked at the box expectantly.

The barker kept his large grin on his face as he opened the box and inside was indeed a large tuna that was heavily salted to keep it preserved. I could have sworn I heard Shio purr but from the way no one around me reacted I could probably guess that my ears where just playing tricks on me.

Shio quickly dropped my hand and swiped the box from the barker, I saw the barker blink in surprise at being relived of the box so suddenly, Ietaka chuckled awkwardly, "my wife really loves tuna," he explained.

The barker was either a native to Konoha or was desensitized to the weird and strange as he barely even took a second glance at the woman who was now defiantly purring with her cheek rubbing up against the wooden box.

"Uhh…Kaasan," I say, trying to subtly remind her to keep it together.

I heard Ietaka sigh from beside me, "it's no use while she's like this Isamu, we just got to let her do her thing, how about we take this to the apartment for lunch hmm?" he offered.

Shio apparently didn't have to be told twice as she was already fast walking towards the direction of the apartment. Ietaka lifted me up back onto his shoulders and began to leisurely follow his wife.

We had gotten a few dozen paces from the arm wrestling table when a voice from our left stopped us. "That was impressive Ietaka-san, it's not every day a blacksmith beats an experienced Genin in a physical competition."

I looked towards the voice and was surprised to see Kurenai walking towards us, Ietaka stopped to address the young woman, "thank you Kurenai-san, but the threat of having a displeased wife brings out the best in any man," he spoke evenly.

Kurenai smiled at that and looked up at me, her intense scarlet eyes sucking away any confidence that my three year old body gave me. "And how are you doing today Isamu, are you having a good stay in my home?" She asked.

I fought to keep my blush down while trying to keep my thoughts away from the what I would do to her if we were both in our twenties. "I…its really fun, it's the best birthday ever," I say. Technically it's the only birthday I remember in this life but it's been fun so far, definitely in my top fifteen at least.

Kurenai's gentle smile widened slightly, "o what fun how old are you now, five, six?" she asked.

I shook my head, "three," I corrected.

Kurenai looked surprised and moved her gaze to Ietaka for confirmation, "he's smart for his age, Shio and I hope to get him in a university one day." Ietaka affirmed.

Kurenai nodded at the explanation but I can tell that I had probably caught more interested than Shio and Ietaka wanted. "Well I guess than this just falls right into place, you see I was going to watch the Chunin exams with a few friends of mine but three of them had something important come up. I figured sense your family is new to Konoha and that Shio-san had made such a wonderful gift for my friend than you would be the perfect people to ask to take these extra tickets off my hands." The brunette informed as she took three tickets out of a pouch on her waist and handed them to Ietaka.

I saw Ietaka hesitate for a moment before taking them, "that's very kind of you Kurenai-san, my family and I are grateful," he said with a slight bow forcing me to tangle my hands in his hair as makeshift hand holds.

"Wow!" I exclaimed.

"O sorry son, I forgot you were up there," Ietaka said with a laugh.

Kurenai giggled at us, "well I hope to see you three at the arena tomorrow, and happy birthday Isamu!" Kurenai bid us farewell and disappeared back into the crowed.

"That was nice of her wasn't it Otosan," I said, trying to get a read on how he felt on the situation.

Ietaka nodded his head, "yes it was, keep your eyes about you son, some people do nice things for bad reasons, it takes something called wisdom to be able to tell if someone is actually being nice or just trying to trick you." He explained as he tried to catch up to Shio.

I nodded at this, I might not have been a very smart man in my previous life, but I prided myself on not allowing myself to be betrayed by fake friends, but then again my circle of friends never exceeded ten people at any given time. So maybe I'm not wise and just an ass who doesn't trust easily, I shrugged, I rather be an ass with a few good friends than a doormat for hundreds of untrustworthy acquaintances.

As we made our way back to the apartment I saw a black shape enter my peripherals, I inch my head ever so slightly to my right. I could just barely make out shape of someone crouching a top a nearby building before the shape disappeared a second later. I sigh to myself, yep, we are definitely being watched.

* * *

 **So I wanted to do a bit of world building with this chapter, as a writer who loves creation stories and lore it always annoyed me that Kishimoto never actually put effort into his lore and world building. He never really dived into the lore and history of his world, I don't like that. I especially don't like the fact that every country in the world is basically the same thing culturally, economically, linguistically, and religiously. It makes the whole world seem very small, as if the elemental nations is hardly any bigger than East coast of the United States. I want to expand upon some things but this story isn't my "fix Kishimoto's lore" story, that's a story for another time. I'll add some things here and there from our world to spice things up a bit, nothing that won't make sense technologically, but add in some duduks from Armenia like you saw earlier. Nothing so advanced like the concept of nationhood though, the idea of citizenship is a maybe, but sense this is an eastern influenced world it might be up to Isamu to bring his superior western philosophy to this world.**

 **Thank you to everyone who has favorite and followed this story so far, those who leave a review you guys are amazing. I can't tell you how much it brightens my day seeing someone taking their time to review my story, I hope this chapter finds you all well and I hope that you were all entertained.**


	6. Realities

**Shape Shifter**

 **I don't own Naruto, Naruto is the property of Kishimoto Masashi and is not my intellectual property. There is no financial gain made from this nor will any be sought. This is for entertainment purposes only.**

* * *

 **Realities**

" _You'd think the super bowl was going on with the amount of hype that is in the air right now,"_ I muse as I watch the thousands of people excitedly file into the seats around me in preparation for the upcoming wizard duels below.

I refuse to call it a ninja battle, purely based on the fact that I can see the contestants, if they were real ninja then a whole gladiatorial tournament for the express purposes to show off the new crop of Genin wouldn't exist. I'm sure that the special clandestine forces in the various villages are the actual ninjas but I fail to see how throwing flash magic around falls into the, stealth, espionage, sabotage, and assassination job description of a ninja.

I was currently seated on Ietaka's lap, my hand occasionally disappearing into the bag in Shio's grasp and reappearing with a handful of salted peanuts, I didn't realize how much peanuts I grabbed in my hand and was utterly blindsided by the huge mouthful that I was dealing with at the moment.

"Aww look at the baby chipmunk Kurenai!" I hear from my right, I turn my head to see Kurenai and Anko in her new trench coat walking towards us, _"are those hearts in their eyes?"_ I wonder.

Anko gracefully finds her seat next to Ietaka and I, looking at me with those big chocolate eyes of hers, in the corner of my eye I could see Shio and Ietaka trying to do their best not to tense at the sudden arrival of the two shinobi.

Anko's cheesy smile only grows as I try to chew the peanuts in my mouth, "Kurenai are you sure this is the smart kid you were talking about yesterday?" She asks while holding her head in her hands.

I saw Kurenai's head poke out from behind Anko, the brunette visibly holding back a squeal of some kind at seeing me. "Yep that's him Anko-chan, he's very articulate for his age," she indicarted.

I could tell Ietaka had now subtly tensed at the mention of my advanced mind, being seen as a potential prodigy in a ninja village during the Chunin exams of all times, yeah I may have royally fucked up. But I can't do shit about it, if Iwa or Konoha wants me in their glorified mercenary band there isn't much I could do. Like being on an airplane, if something goes wrong there is nothing you can do so might as well accept your potential death, just cruse along and not worry about things out of your control. That being said I might as well show off a little bit, I would much rather be taken in by Konoha, the ground zero for every major event in the coming years than be taken up by some random back water like Star from that one filler episode.

I munch on my mouth peanuts for a moment before I final ground them down enough to swallow, strange that I could actually chew these peanuts with baby teeth, they did feel abnormally chewy though, _"maybe Shio did something to them? Chakra bullshit most likely,"_ I muse.

My eyes hadn't left the smiling face of Anko Mitarashi, in all honestly I was at a loss for words, she was one of the first fictional crushes I had ever had. It really wasn't all because of her looks, but her personality, as cheesy as that sounds, was what one me over, I have a thing for tomboys after all, that and redheads.

"Something smart," I tune in to the tail end of Anko's sentence.

"Uhh," I question intelligently.

I see Anko roll her eyes at my response, "Kurenai are you sure this is the kid?" She asked while looking over her shoulder at her red eyed friend.

I glance back at Shio, looking for any sort of guidance.

Shio's face was set in a friendly mask, giving the two teenaged Kunoichi a small smile, _"Shit…I'm not smart enough to act dumb, both would see right through it if I tried to act my age…fuck it, the pros of them knowing that I'm smarter than what I'm supposed to be outweighs the cons."_ I reason.

"Isamu, do you know what's going on?" I hear Kurenai question while gesturing to the arena below.

Both Kunoichi look at me expectantly, I pull my eyes away from Anko and look down to the dirt below, I could see the backs of eight people standing next to each other in the middle of the arena. The hot June sun beating down on their heads while the proctor, a woman with black hair, gently fanned herself with a small hand fan.

"We're gonna see the new ninja fight each other!" I exclaim excitedly.

Kurenai smiled, "yes and why are they fighting?" She pressed.

"hmmm, Kaasan said it's a test to see who has the best new ninja, so, they're trying to show off?" I answer questioningly. I might not want to act my age but that doesn't excuse me showing knowledge I have no right to know right now.

I hear Anko huff by my side, "that doesn't prove anything, say something smart chipmunk and then I'll believe you Kurenai."

" _Something smart…something smart…O I got it,"_ I give Anko a big cheesy smile that matched hers just a few moments ago, "Something smart," I sass.

Both Ietaka and Shio chuckled at my response, while Anko gave me a strange smirk, "little sassy chipmunk aren't you, Shio-san you make you kids as good as you make your cloths," Anko said before she patted my head lightly.

"I like to think I make my children better than I make my cloths Anko-san," Shio replied friendly.

I smile up at Anko, feeling her slender hand running through my hair gently for those few seconds, reminded me of home.

 _A smiling woman sitting beside me on an old blue couch as the light of the television illuminated us, my head rested on her shoulder, feeling the stress after a long day of work melting off as she gently stroked my head. The feeling of her warm lips gently kiss my forehead as she hummed her favorite song in that beautiful singing voice that she only let me hear._

I blink away the flash of memory as the thunderous sound of the Hokage's voice echoed throughout the arena.. "Welcome one and all to this year's finals of the Chunin selections exam!" The aged voice of Hiruzen Sarutobi was proceeded by the sounds of the cheering crowd around me, I couldn't help but be swept up in the energy as I clapped my little toddler hands in excitement.

"This year Konohagakure is proud to welcome the honorable Kazekage into our beautiful home." I hear more cheers but the loudest of them being from people who have obvious ties to Suna or the Land of Wind from the way they dress.

"Today we will witness these eight young ninja as they do battle to honor their respective villages, each of these Genin hold within themselves the potential to become Chunin this day, each of them carrying with them the spirit and hope of their homes at their backs. Today will prove to us and themselves that they have what it takes to not only live but thrive in Shinobi world!" Hiruzen continued his speech, the energy in the crowed picking up even more as the Hokage's words reverberated in the arena.

"Now it the time for honor, now is the time for wit and strength to win the day, let the finals of the Chunin selections exams begin!" The Sandaime announced. The crowd went wild with cheers, Anko herself stood up in excitement and pumped her fist in the air as she hollered with her fellow spectators.

After a few moments of cheering the proctor took a few steps forward and with a close of her fan began to speak, "My name is Aka Uchiha, I will be the proctor for this exam, the rules are simple, the contestants will do anything within their power to win. It is not permitted to endanger noncombatants knowingly or willingly, if I deem that a contestant is unable to win I will step in and stop the match to avoid unnecessary death, if a contestant surrenders than their opponent will automatically win, at any time a contestant may forfeit his or her match. Now the first round of the finals will be between Tsushimi Yoshida of Takigakure and Hidetake Toki of Konohagakure!" The Uchiha woman informed, using the same voice enhancing technique that the Hokage used to easily carry her voice over the arena.

From my perspective I could only see obvious details about the Genin below, Tsushimi was a Kunoichi with short navy blue hair and looked very tall, probably around six feet, she was very muscular as she was wearing a light grey crop top that showed off her abs. Opposite to the Taki Kunoichi was what looked to be the young woman's antithesis, Hidetake was short and skinny, his brown hair was as bland as mine. The only notable thing about the kid was the long glaive he held to his side that, by all rights, looked impossible for someone as short has him to wield.

"Are both combatants ready to begin?" The Uchiha proctor asked.

I saw both Genin nod their heads in response, a second later the proctor announced "begin!" with a chop of her hand before she flickered away to the far side of the arena.

I made the mistake of blinking as in that short moment I heard a loud boom that rocked the area, I looked down to see twin clouds of dust slowing falling to the ground from where the two Genin where previously standing, as fast as I could physically manage I quickly moved my eyes to the two ninja below.

Hidetake had the flat end of his glaive blocking the large fist of Tsushimi, I could see both of them visibly shaking as they both vied for physical supremacy. I felt my heart beat in my chest and in that time both combatants disappeared in a blur, only occasionally did I hear the clanging of metal, another heart beat later and both Genin ended up on opposite sides of the area. I hear the audience around me clap excitedly, I couldn't get a good view of what was going on. I stood up in Ietaka's lap and try to see the action, I see Tsushimi clutching her stomach while Hidetake pull something out of his shoulder right shoulder.

"Man kid knows how to use a Naginata I'll give him that, but using something so slow against a Taijutsu specialist is a good way to get killed," I hear Anko comment from my side.

The Naginata clangs to the ground as I see the Konoha Genin roll his shoulder, I look down in surprise as I see the Taki Genin's hand glow a faint green and right before all of our eyes the shallow cut on her stomach stitches itself back together in seconds.

"Wow a medic that knows how to punch, Taki thinking about making a new Tsunade or what?" I hear a gruff voice from behind me add in his two cents, I risk a glace to see Asuma Sarutobi intently watching the display on the sands below, his cigarette momentarily forgotten in his hand.

The glance was a mistake as I feel a wave of heat blast quickly from one end of the arena to the other, I whip my head back just in time to see a bright explosion kick up sand, obscuring Tsushimi from view. The crowd roars at the display, deafening me slightly as this time it was louder and longer lasting than any of the other cheering from before.

I desperately try and see what is going on but the battle wizards below move too fast for my eyes. "Wow!" I exclaim loudly as I see what I can only describe a tsunami of fire stream from a dust cloud on the north side of the arena being aimed at a dust cloud at the south east side. The torrent of fire tracks south west as I see a blur of movement being just fast enough to avoid the inferno.

For some reason Tsushimi stops just long enough for me to see her panting with her hand once again glowing green, that was a mistake that even my untrained eyes could see as the inferno quickly caught her and engulfed the Taki Genin.

As the dust settled only a pair of scorched sandals where left.

I saw the proctor walk up to the pair of smoking sandals and look down towards them, after a short moment the proctor raised her head from the ground. "The winner of the first match of the finals i-" a sudden gasp from the crowd erupted as a pair of hands burst from the ground right below Hidetake and grasped his ankles. With a mighty pull the young Genin was forced down into the ground, his legs despaired within microseconds, the next heartbeat and his torso followed, it only took a total of one second for the boy to be pulled into the earth from the chin down.

Half a heartbeat later I saw a blur of blue jump out from the ground behind the buried Konoha Genin, I was shocked to find Tsushimi with barely a scratch on her. The Kunoichi didn't take the time to gloat on the sudden turn of events as she forced the boy's exposed head into the ground, bullying his teeth into the dirt. The same moment the girl grabbed a kunai from her waist pouch and brought the tip of the blade somewhere near his head.

After a few brief moments of Hidetake struggling to free himself from his earthy bonds I heard the proctor cry out, "Winner Tsushimi Yoshida of Takigakure!"

The crowd went wild, I even saw a few Konoha ninja give the girl begrudging respect if their polite applause was anything to go by.

"Aw come on it was so obviously a fake out, is this what passes for Genin nowadays!?" I hear Anko yell angrily while she shook her fist at the defeated Hidetake.

I hear a gruff voice speak from behind me, "Go easy on the kid would ya Anko, not every Genin could pull off a fire jutsu on that scale while also wielding a naginata with that level of proficiency." Asuma reasoned.

Kurenai turned in her seat and gave the smoking man a dazzling smile, "o Asuma-kun you're back, will you be staying home this time?"

Asuma smiled at the brunette Kunoichi, "Yes actually my duty to, Kaneko-sama will end after this exam." Asuma revealed.

Kurenai's face seemed to brighten at his words, "that's so wonderful, we should round up our friends tonight and celebrate."

Anko guffawed at the suggestion, "good luck with that, the scarecrow is hard to find nowadays, heard a rumor that he's on some high priority need to know type mission, but I'm sure everyone else will be more than happy to get a few drinks tonight."

Asuma took a hit of his cigarette, unfortunately the wind blew it in my direction and an involuntary cough escaped my lungs.

My cough made Asuma aware of my presence, "o sorry about that, damn wind hard to predict sometimes. Wait… aren't you three from the precession?" He questioned while putting out his cigarette.

Ietaka looked decently annoyed at the Shinobi for blowing smoke our direction, "yes we are, you were the Shinobi that escorted us to Konoha."

Asuma nodded, "yes and you," he nodded his head towards Shio, "were the woman that almost stuck me with a dagger, sorry again for startling you, was surprised that a civilian could move that fast." Asuma commented.

His word caught the attention of both Anko and Kurenai while Shio looked as friendly as could be. "You obviously haven't startled vary many mothers haven't you Shinobi-san?" Shio questioned.

Asuma raised an eyebrow at that, "well I have seen my own mother move that fast, but then again she was a ninja."

Shio took a few peanuts out of her bag casually and ate them slowly and deliberately, the slow movements apparently designed to annoy the Shinobi which from what I could tell wasn't working. After a few moments Shio finally answered, "if you are implying that I have Shinobi training than you're not entirely wrong," she began. I felt Ietaka tense while I whipped my head towards Shio in surprise.

" _What is she doing, are we really about to reveal ourselves after all this talk about being careful?"_ I wonder.

It was Kurenai who spoke up next but the kind patient voice that I've become accustomed to was gone and in its place was one of sternness and promised grave consequences if things turned out to be suspect. "You aren't native to Tanpo village aren't you?"

Shio's kind smile never left her face, "no Ietaka and I moved to Tanpo village a few weeks before I had Isamu-chan. I am originally from a village that once existed near the border to the Land of Grass, but the war erased it from the map. My father was a good man, he loved me and my mother and was kind and decent to us, but in your eyes he would seem as nothing more than a deserter. A missing-nin from Iwa, he wasn't of great renown or of a noble family but he taught me everything I know." Shio revealed.

" _O you sneaky little devil"_ I thought as I realized what Shio was playing at.

Asuma nodded at this, "so your father was from Iwa, you never wanted to join them after his death?" He pressed.

Shio shook her head, her friendly smile gone as she took a forlorn look, "I can't say I was never curious, but my father left for a reason. I scrapped by a living during the war as a mail runner for a few minor lords and wealthy merchants, I only used what my father taught me for self-defense. Near the end of the war I found a wounded and lost soldier of our Lord Kaneko," She said as she place a hand on Ietaka's thigh, giving the man a golden smile.

Ietaka placed his hand over Shio's and continued their story, "We were hit hard by Lightning forces the day before, I like many other of us conscripted young boys were the meat shields for the noble and honorable Samurai," He said with dripping sarcasm.

I see the three listening ninja wince as he gently lifted his shit and revealed a long scar that ran up the length of his right side to his armpit.

"Wow," I exclaimed, "who did that, did you beat him up, did Kaasan save you?" I ask rapid fire questions, going along with the story.

I saw a gleam in Ietaka and Shio's eye, the look that I saw when I did something a normal kid shouldn't do, like when I helped Shio set the table or when I learned how to read a full book just a few months ago. _"They're proud of their little liar, well wouldn't want to disappoint them, my father was a great bullshit artist and he taught me his ways long ago."_

Ietaka smiled down at me and ruffled my hair, "no I didn't get him, an archer a hundred yards back did however, your Kaasan found me the next day and patched me up, I thought I had died and was seeing an angel, well I was at least half right that day." He said as he leaned over and gave Shio a kiss on the cheek.

I hear Kurenai aww at the display while Anko made fake puking noises.

Asuma looked down our trio and looked guilty, "I'm sorry to have pressed you two, being a Shinobi makes one paranoid at times, but you two don't have to fear anything from us, if you want you could stay in Konoha, we could teach your son how to protect himself better than your father did." He offers.

Shio frowns at this, "I understand the honor you are offering me and my family Shinobi-san,"

"Asuma, Asuma Sarutobi," Asuma corrected while he held out his hand for a handshake.

Shio took the offered hand and shook it, "Shio, just Shio," Shio greeted.

Ietaka then took Asuma's now free hand and shook it as well, "Ietaka," he grunted out his greeting.

Asuma then turned towards me and I smiled a big toddler megawatt grin, "chipmunk!" I said while I took his large hand in both of my hands and shook it like I was trying to get water out of a well.

Anko laughed uproariously at this, "see even the kid gets it, maybe you are smart after all," she said as she ruffled my hair.

Ietaka laughed lightly, and by laugh I mean he expelled a bit more air out of his nose as usual, "his name is Isamu, and apparently he's forgotten his manners," he with a light poke to my ribs.

I just chuckle at Ietaka's annoyed look.

Shio then cleared her throat lightly getting my and all the rest of the conversation's attention, "like I was saying, my family and I would be honored, but we have to decline, I am only staying here for a few short months with Isamu. We would like our son to grow up away from the life of a soldier, we would love to see him join a university one day, the first non-noble to join such a prestigious place of learning would show everyone that us common folk aren't the dumb sheep that everyone thinks we are." Shio stated confidently.

"Well I don't doubt he certainly has the potential, your son does seem to carry himself with a much better…awareness than any other child his age," Kurenai observes.

I smiled at the crimson eyed teenager, "yup I know lots of stuff," I couldn't help but boast.

" O really what do you know?" Anko asked as she leaned in with a quizzical look.

" _Aww shit, damn my weakness for cute girls, always have to show off when I feel confident."_ I lament.

"Uhh, I know never to ask a woman her age," I say.

Asuma nodded at this, "wise beyond his years," he says sagely.

Before I was questioned further the proctor yelled over the murmur of the audience, "thank you all for your patience, now will Nobuhisa Otagi of Sunagakure and Arimoto Yoshida of Amegakure please come to the center of the arena!" Aka announced.

I look down to see Nobuhisa arrive in a swirl of sand at the west side of the arena, most of his body was covered by a long flowing beige robe and a white head scarf.

Again, as with the last fight, the contrast of the contestants was visibly clear Arimoto was wearing a sleeves black shirt that looked like it had once had sleeves but where forcibly torn off. He wore a pair round goggles on his face and had aquamarine colored shorts, his spikey teal green hair was the most striking of his features. He jumped down for the contestants box with a yell and cartwheeled to the center of the ring wooing the watching crowed that was unfamiliar to the Shinobi arts and acrobatics in general.

"Kid's gonna hit his head on a rock if he keeps that up," Asuma commented, unimpressed at the display.

"Are both contestants ready?" Aka questioned.

Both nodded their heads, "alright, begin!" The proctor announced and once again blurred to the far end of the arena.

This time I had my eyes locked in on the fight, I watch as the two Genin flashed through hand seals faster than I could even comprehend, a second later I saw Arimoto spit out a huge glob of water the size of a small horse towards Nobuhisa.

However when I saw the Suna Genin finish his seals I saw nothing, but my brief moment of confusion faded as I heard the sound of rushing wind thrust its way towards the propelling glob of water.

The second the two jutsu collided water and wind was scattered everywhere and I felt myself get misted by the combined techniques. _"Holy shit, eat your heart out sea world."_ I think as the mist of water continued to pelt me with each second both Genin held their Jutsu.

After a moment the water eventually overpowered the wind and Nobuhisa was forced to retreat. In a blur the Suna Genin appeared to the left side of Arimoto, I saw his left arm blur with speed and half a heartbeat later the Ame Genin jumped away to dodge. I now see that it was Kunai Nobuhisa had thrown as five small glints of metal reflected sunlight into my eyes.

My slight wince from the sunlight cost me precious milliseconds as Shinobi combat was far faster than I ever anticipated. As One moment the opponents seemed on even ground and the next Arimoto was hurled to the far west side of the arena by a gale of wind and landed headfirst into the wall, causing a spider web crack to appear from the center of impact.

Everyone in the crowed, including me gave a collective "oof" in sympathy from the hard impact.

The Ame Genin attempted to pull himself out of the wall, when he did so after a few moments of struggle a large blood stain was left behind. Arimoto stumbled back for a moment, struggling to keep his feet on wobbly legs, but it was not to be as after a moment of swaying he fell on his ass and held his head in his hands. "I forfeit!" Arimoto's voice yelled.

The proctor walked up to the Ame Genin and looked at the damage and nodded her head after saying a few words to the boy that I couldn't hear. "Winner of the second match Nobuhisa Otagi of Sunagakure!" The crowed clapped and cheered once again.

"Kid's smart for backing out after that much damage, I know a lot of prideful Genin who wouldn't stop even if it killed them." Kurenai observed.

Anko crossed her arms in a huff, "still think this crop is weaker than our generation, I could take on Chunin ten time more skilled than this when I was a rookie." She complained.

I look up in surprise at her words _"seriously, they think these guys suck, I can't even see them move and Anko thinks this crop is weak? How in the hell could I ever hope to match up to anyone of note if I can't even keep up with the lowest of the totem pole?"_ I lament.

"Not everyone is a prodigy Anko, these Genin are decently adequate for peace time Shinobi," Asuma stated.

Apparently this intermission wasn't as long as the last as Aka Uchiha announce the contestants for the next round. "Will Mokushi Yamanaka of Konohagakure and Ujimoto Hori of Kusagakure please come to the center of the arena."

Mokushi was beautiful blond haired woman with mile long pale legs, her outfit was very green. Green short shorts, green crop top, and green hair tie that held her hair in a long pony tail. She swayed her hips flirtatiously at her opponent who was looking like he was trying his college best to look everywhere but nice round ass. I however had no such qualms, _"solid seven, maybe a soft eight,"_ I scored mentally.

As I moved my eyes away from the God's gift of a booty I noted her opponent, Ujimoto. He was a tall lanky guy with brown hair tied in a topknot with a samurai styled light gray gi, and he had a large black cloth tied around his waist that held his seethed Katana at his side.

"Are both contestants ready?" The proctor asked.

Once again the pair nodded, and once again the proctor blurred away to the far end of the arena.

I expected instant action like the last two fights, but this time no one moved aside for Ujimoto who has only placed his right hand on the hilt of his Katana.

A light breeze past as the two opponents studied each other, the crowed silent, waiting with baited breath for the first move of the match. A moment passes, and another moment, until finally Ujimoto blurs forward. A glint of metal briefly reflects the sun's light but this time I was able to see the coming action, with a sudden movement Mokushi stops the incoming sword with one of her own.

The crowed gasps in surprise, no one seeing where the Konoha Genin could have pulled her own Katana out from.

"She has seals on her wrists," Shio announced from her observation.

"O this just got real interesting," Anko said with a devious smirk.

Flashes of movement and the clanging of metal filled the arena, I could only see two blurs of grey and green occasionally meet just long enough to parry or block each other's blows. This wasn't a battle of fierce Taijutsu or flashy Ninjutsu, no this was a dance of blades one that I couldn't even keep up with without years of training under my belt.

The two opponents pause the battle just long enough for me to see the both of them have small cuts on their arms and chests. Ujimoto has a nasty cut on his cheek that is leaking like a faucet while Mokushi's long pony tail is cut in half and her right leg is bleeding like a stuck pig.

The battle continues in a blur of movement, after a few moments of the same battle both contestants notably slow and again they pause, appearing at opposite side of the arena. Mokushi is very pale, her breathing is labored as she horridly pulls bandages from her side pouch and tied them around her badly bleeding leg.

Ujimoto doesn't look any better, the skin around each of the cuts on his arms, legs, and cheek has blackened, the Kusa Genin falls to one knee and vomits his breakfast violently. _"I sure hope he had cherries cause that looks very red,"_ I worry inwardly.

Mokushi is the first to recover, despite her obviously favoring her left leg the woman smirks in triumph regardless. She doesn't allow Ujimoto time to recover and in a second she flashes a hand sign, a second later her body crumples to the floor half a heartbeat after that the Kusa Shinobi stiffens.

Ujimoto raises his hand, "I surrender," he says suddenly.

A second later he falls face first in his own puke while Mokushi slowly rises from her prone position.

The crowed cheers loudly for Konoha's first win of the finals, even if it wasn't as flashy as the other fights the people are just happy their team had a win in.

"She poisoned her weapons, hehe, I like that girl's style," Anko chuckled.

I heard Asuma grunt in agreement, "yeah that's why you never give a Yamanaka an opening, it was smart of her to utilize poisons to distract her opponent, can't always rely on teammates to restrain enemies for you."

"Her swordsmanship is very good as well, I picked up the art of Kenjutsu during the war myself, girl moves faster than I ever hope to move, even after Shio-chan taught me a bit about chakra." Ietaka revealed.

Asuma grunted once more as he lit up another cigarette, "they should really take the time to train young conscripts in chakra, it would save a lot more lives and make the armies much more effective." Asuma added.

Ietaka laughed sarcastically, "why waste time on us peasants, it's supposed to be an honor to die a bloody anonymous death miles from home in a war you don't want, fighting people you don't know, and being ordered around by men born with silver spoons in their mouths." Ietaka wasn't playing a part, he genuinely hated how things are ran, I couldn't help but agree with him whole heartedly.

No one spoke further, the three Shinobi obviously uncomfortable with the subject of conversation, them being of a higher social standing than us technically had every right to arrest us for Ietaka's words. I was grateful that they didn't. But it's still fucked to think that If anyone else had heard that than Shio and I could be put to death by association with a man who dared spoke his mind., or at least that's what I can guess from my studies of feudal societies in my own world.

Once again Aka's voices spoke over the crowed, "Now for the final match of the first round!" The crowed thundered with cheers. "Tadakage Soga of Sunagakure and Suesuke Niwa of Konohagakure please come to the arena!"

Tadakage looked like he was decked out for a full blown war, his hair was hidden by a sand colored bandana. His brown face had white war paint under his eyes, he had a bandolier of kunai over his brown leather and chain mail armor. He wore half a dozen pouches on his waist and had an enormous black rectangle on his back.

Suesuke looked nervous he seemed no older than twelve with a mop of spiky brown hair and a dark blue baggy jacket. Honestly if I didn't know any better than I would think that the kid would've been a Kiba and Hinata's bastard son.

"Are both contestants ready?" The proctor asked.

To my surprise the prepubescent boy stuck his hand out for a friendly handshake.

Tadakage seemed amused by this and took the boys hand, after a friendly handshake between two 'allied' villages that no doubt at least made the Hokage proud the two opponents nodded their consent to the start of the match.

For the fourth time today the proctor blurred away and the match was on.

In a flash of movement Tadakage pulled the black rectangle off of his back and unveiled a giant fan that unleashed tornado force winds.

But to me and everyone else's surprise Tadakage missed wide and unleashed his maelstrom at the north side of the wall instead of the at the east side where Suesuke was standing,

Said Genin was grinning ear to ear as he watched his opponent suddenly jump away and unleash another blast of wind again not anywhere near him.

Suesuke just stood there as his opponent blurred around the arena frantically, swinging wind and throwing kunai at a phantom only he could see while the audience murmured in confusion at the display.

"He put a Genjustu on him when they shook hands," Kurenai commented, looking suitably impressed.

"How'd he manage that without hand signs?" Anko asked.

Kurenai smirked proudly down at the small form of Suesuke who now for the first time this match had to actually move a few feet away as a pair of Kunai came too close for comfort. "Technically you don't _need_ hand signs for any jutsu, it just makes it significantly easier, so much easier that in almost any situation the concentration and time needed to preform techniques or even to take the effort to learn without using them isn't worth the investment. But this kid managed to pull off a Genjustu, one of the hardest arts to master, without even a single hand sign." She explained proudly.

Tadakage had suddenly stopped moving and was panting heavily in the middle of the arena with his back towards Suesuke. "Stop moving you little shit!" His angered voice carried over the confused murmuring of the crowd.

The Konoha Genin casually strolled behind Tadakage and gently poked the older man in the back who suddenly stiffened upon contact. The man didn't move as Suesuke placed a kunai near where his femoral artery was, after a brief few seconds Aka realized that the Suna Genin either wouldn't or couldn't move and any second the Konoha Genin was ready and able to end his opponents life. "Winner Suesuke Niwa of Konohagakure!" Aka announced.

The crowed once again cheered loudly for one of their own winning the battle.

"You see what I mean, sneaky is the only way to do it, real ninja cheat to get in a win, not flash their way to victory," Anko grinned in vindication.

"Yes it does seem the more subtle arts are bringing Konoha to victory this year," Kurenai agreed.

Aka Uchiha stood in the center of the arena her voice silencing the murmuring of the audience, "the first round of the Chunin exam finals have come to a close and the second round will begin after a short ten minute intermission. The second round match ups are Tsushimi Yoshida of Takigakure against Nobuhisa Otagi of Sunagakure, next will be Mokushi Yamanaka of Konohagakure verses Suesuke Niwa of Konohagakure, please return to your seats after the ten minute intermission." Aka announced.

Ietaka let me down from his lap and stretched his legs and back with a groan, "Isamu come with me, we got some business to take care of," Ietaka said as he took my hand and began to walk away from our group.

"Ietaka-kun I know that you won't be betting our hard earned money away at all would you?" Shio asked with a very…friendly smile on her face.

Ietaka chuckled nervously, "hehe, not at all Shio-chan, just, going to get some more snacks that's all." He said

Shio kept her smile that bordered on creepy, "good because I know you would never introduce our baby boy to such a vice now won't you?" She asked but it didn't feel like a question.

Ietaka gulped audibly, "o…of course sweet heart," he said before dragging me away from Shio's creeper vibes.

* * *

We soon found ourselves in a packed hallway with various people walking about from stalls on the sides of the hallway or rushing towards the clearly designated restrooms. Ietaka dragged me along to a stall a few dozen yards down, above stall showed a chalk board with of the names of the four remaining Genin contestants as well as the odds of winning.

"Uhh, Otosan, didn't Kaasan tell you not to bet?" I asked carefully.

Ietaka smiled at me, "I won't be putting up any more than a few hundred Ryo and _I_ won't be betting but _you_ will." He said to me.

I blinked in surprise, "what?" was my eloquent reply.

Ietaka kneeled down to my level and spoke softly so that only I could hear, "son I saw the way you were looking at the fights, I could tell you understood what was going on even if you couldn't follow it very well with your untrained eyes. Think of this as training, I'm not naïve enough to believe that you'll live a carefree life without struggle, your Kaasan and I want you to be as ready as can be when you eventually leave the nest one day. So I ask you, who do you think will win the second round fights?"

" _He must really have faith in my knowledge to actually ask me seriously."_ I muse, I know that Ietaka and Shio know that I'm smarter than a kids should be, I've known it for a long time. But now there is a tangible proof that they must really think I'm actually smart. Words are only wind but money, money actually talks, _"and I don't want to let them down."_ I realized.

I look up at the names my face scrunching up in concentration, " _Tsushimi is a very fast Taijutsu specialist and had medical Ninjutsu as well as at least one earth jutsu under her belt. While Nobuhisa is a ranged wind type Ninjutsu specialist, wind and earth aren't opposing elements so neither will have a distinct advantage when it comes to a jutsu clash. Unless Tsushimi can weather the first attacks from Nobuhisa then I don't see her wining if he goes all out right at the beginning and gets in a good hit. But then again that's if Tsushimi actually gives him some space, and an enclosed arena against a melee specialist is a ranged fighter's worst nightmare. So…my money's on Tsushimi."_ I reasoned inwardly.

I pointed to the Taki Kunoichi's name on the board, "Tsushimi's gonna win the first match," I say confidently.

Ietaka smiled at me, "and why is that son?" He asked.

"Tsushimi is really fast, and Nobuhisa doesn't look like he likes to take fights up close, if Tsushimi can get close and punch him enough times then he'll lose. He also can't run away sense the arena is only so big, I bet if they were out in the open than Nobuhisa would win though." I informed my reasoning.

Ietaka hummed at that, "but what if Nobuhisa's winds stop her from getting close?" He asked.

"Then She'll just go underground and hid until he stops," I reply.

"Ahh but what if Nobuhisa doesn't stop, I don't think anyone can breathe underground like that," Ietaka counters.

I frown, "then she'll just make a wall of dirt or something, if people can spit out water then surly making a wall of dirt isn't impossible."

Ietaka nods at this, "you are right, if she can stand up against his opening attacks and he burns out his chakra then she could close the distance, so five hundred ryo on Tsushimi then, now who else will win son?" He asks.

I huff as I look at the names, _"Suesuke got lucky, he's good at Genjustu but from what I can tell Genjustu is most effective when least expected, and Mokushi is a Yamanaka, they're trained to know how the brain works so I bet only some really powerful Genjustu can trip them up. Not to mention Mokushi has poisons and her blade, her better reach alone put Suesuke at a disadvantage. But on the other hand we didn't really see what Suesuke had up his sleeves, either he's really bluffing or he's just that good. Fuck this one is hard, do I go for the one who is obviously better or do I choose the wild card? Hmmm…fuck it."_

"I'd bet on Suesuke," I announced.

Ietaka looked down at me in confusion, "why?" He asked simply.

I shrug, "well Mokushi is the obvious choice, she's more experienced, has a better set of skill, and Suesuke obviously got really lucky." I explain.

Ietaka nodded slowly, "so…why aren't you betting on Mokushi sense she's obviously the better choice?" Ietaka asked in intrigue.

I smiled up at the man, "well we don't really know much about what Suesuke can do, he's a complete unknown other than he can make good Genjustu. But even then that's not a good enough reason to bet on him. I think it's smart to bet on him just because you could get a lot of money out of it if he wins, a little risk of a few hundred ryo is worth the reward of thousands." I reason.

Ietaka looks at me incredulously, "so you'd rather take risk than going with the safe bet?" He asked.

I shook my head, "I don't think anything is a safe bet when it comes to ninja," I reply easily.

Ietaka smiled at me, "well you certainly are my son, alright two hundred ryo up for Suesuke," He said.

* * *

After placing our bets we got a few snacks to keep up the pretense for Shio's benefit and made our way back to our seats.

Aka Uchiha was once again back in the center of the arena but this time the two combatants were already standing there with her. "The second round of the Chunin selection finals is about to being Tsushimi Yoshida of Takigakure are you ready?" The proctor announced.

I see the blue haired young woman speak in response but her words were lost in the sound of the exited crowed, Aka however seemed satisfied as her attention moved to the Suna Genin. "Nobuhisa Otagi of Sunagakure are you ready to begin?" She asked.

Nobuhisa nodded his head in affirmation.

"Very good, now begin!" Aka Shouted before she once again disappeared in a flicker of movement.

My assumptions from earlier proved to be correct as Tsushimi burst forward in a bang of speed that caused a mini shockwave to rock the crowed. In the same instant Nobuhisa quickly ran through a series of hand signs, in the same time it took the Taki Kunoichi to close the distance the Suna Shinobi finished his final hand seal.

A loud rush of wind burst forward from Nobuhisa, blowing Tsushimi back towards the far end of the arena, however the Taki Genin apparently made contact before she was forced back as at that same moment the Suna Genin's head snapped back and was forced back several dozen feet.

In a blink I saw the two ninja right themselves in the air, I was able to see red rapidly stain the Suna Genin's relatively clean white head scarf while I could see Tsushimi's green glowing had covering her left ribs. Twin blurs of movement followed as the two combatants tested themselves in a duel of throwing kunai, each blur moving counter clockwise in a full rotation around the arena.

I suddenly jumped from my seat as a loud explosion erupted from one of the kunai thrown by Tsushimi caused dirt and sand to erupt into the air around where the Suna Genin once stood. The explosion distracted me just enough for when I looked back towards Tsushimi I was surprised at seeing four other copies of the same young woman rush towards a white and beige colored blur at the opposite end of the arena.

"Smart use of an explosive tag to distract from her making earth clones, I barely even caught who was the real one." I hear the voice of Asuma appraise.

It was disorientating watching five of the same person suddenly appear out of nowhere, my eyes now having to go into overdrive as I try to piece together what's happening. Now instead of two blurs of movement I couldn't keep up with I was now seeing six, clashing of steel, loud bursts of speed that nearly broke the sound barrier, and huge gusts of wind was the sound track to this battle.

But soon the six blurs become two as one by one Tsushimi's clones where destroyed and turned into piles of rock by Nobuhisa's winds. As the second minute of fighting passed the two opponents allowed themselves a brief breather, when the combatants appeared to my sight once again I could see them both looking worse for wear.

Tsushimi had cuts and bruises all along her arms and legs, her priority for healing obviously favoring her chest and abdominal areas as I could see both her hands busy glowing green attempting to stop blending around her breast and what looked like a near miss to her liver or kidney, I never could remember where either of them were.

Meanwhile Nobuhisa who had his robe nearly destroyed by the fight tore off the now useless garment to reveal him wearing a short sleeved black shirt nearly as black as his own skin and a pair of long shinobi pants and a belt with half a dozen small pouches attacked. His head scarf now removed I could see the young man's face, his nose and lips stained with blood, he also looked to be favoring his right leg and had his right arm holding his ribs.

"Urrahh!" I hear Nobuhisa roar before he lifted his arms and punched the air, a visible shockwave of compressed air shot strait towards Tsushimi, said Taki Genin attempted to doge the powerful blast of wind.

Everyone in the audience gasped as the technique blasted into the eastern wall of the arena and caused two holes to bore into the side. The sound of grinding stone filled the arena for a few moments until Nobuhisa was forced to dodge a blue blur coming from his left. A glint of metal reflected the sun just right to blind me for half a second, a half second that was just enough time for everything to change.

I saw Tsushimi suddenly stop a few yards behind Nobuhisa clutching her neck and fall to her knees. Utter silence filled the arena save for the sound of a girl chocking on her own blood. I saw Tsushimi look up towards the spectators, for the first time I could see just how uniquely orange her eyes where and just how terrified she was at that moment. A second passed and those big orange orbs glazed over and she fell face first into the dirt, blood pooling around her.

" _This has to be another trick, she has to get up, she has to get up."_ I reason to myself.

I suddenly heard the sounds of sobbing penetrate the silence that permeated the air, with each gasping sob my heart was stabbed over and over again. One second I was cheering for the thrill of battle, two bright young ninja were competing for honor and glory. I was a spectator watching a sport, one of the few past times this world has to offer, _"I bet money on this,"_ I realize.

A sudden wave of nausea hit me as I realized what I was doing, _"She couldn't have been more than sixteen, a child, she was a medic, how many lives could she have saved, how many people is she leaving behind?"_ I question.

The realization finally fully dawned on me as I watched the still from of the Taki Kunoichi stain the arena with her blood, _"These kids…these children…are fighting for my amusement, for nothing more than coin, this…how is this okay…how is this even encouraged?"_

I was jarred out of my thoughts by a wave of applause and cheers, I saw Nobuhisa not even spare the girl he just murdered a second glance as he disappeared in a swirl of sand. Two ninja suddenly appear on the scene garbed in white and move Tsushimi onto a stretcher before they too disappeared in a blur of movement.

The girl's blood hadn't even cooled yet and already I saw the next two children make their way into the killing fields. _"Just like that they all move on, just like that, like a life means nothing to these people, like this was normal, like this is a good thing."_ I looked to see people's smiling faces and the wonderment of children around me, Konoha Shinobi looked down at the arena with begrudging respect at the display.

My vision blurs as I feel myself breath harder, _"What is wrong with these people, how could they enjoy this after what just happened, how could they be okay with this…how could_ I _enjoy this?"_ These people, these… sheep, accepted their children to be sacrificed for the enjoyment of the collective. They didn't care about how the Daimyo could upend their livelihoods on a whim, they didn't care about how the Kage are left without blame for the Shinobi wars, no they only cared for the escape, the spectacle of it all.

"Give them bread and circus and they will never revolt," I whispered as I gazed into the pool of blood reflecting the faces of the smiling crowed above.

I felt disgusted with myself at my participation, my willful ignorance, I knew how this world operates, I knew how backwards and barbaric it was. I didn't care, _"No…"_ I muse, _"I'm afraid…I don't want to accept this reality , I'm afraid to accept my mistakes, I still refuse to acknowledge what I did…why I'm even here in the first place."_

I look down at the pool of blood that stained the dirt floor below, in my mind I saw a beat up old truck and the sound of a song on the radio that bought back painful memories. _"I don't want to accept that I left so many people behind, I just wanted to act like a kid again, be lost in the fantasy…But this is real…and this whole world is beyond fucked up."_

I look up at Shio, seeing concern in her eyes as she looked down at me. "Kaasan…I think I ate too much peanuts, could we go the apartment?" I ask.

* * *

 **So this chapter ended up being way longer than anticipated but I didn't want to spend two weeks' worth of content on a Chunin exam that my main character was only a spectator for.**

 **That being said I am happy how it turned out, every SI needs a moment of true realization, a moment that they realize that this shit is real and they can either choose to do something about it or hide under a rock and hope that this fucked up world passes them over.**

 **I also really wanted to make a chapter that showed shinobi combat from the perspective of an untrained civilian, to Isamu Genin are like supermen in comparison to him, mostly because they kind of are. I also like playing around with the whole class system of this world and just how fortunate people who are born in a hidden village are.**

 **I don't know if I'm going to go all viva la revolution in this story or not though, for all I know Isamu might go all veni vidi vici instead ( yes I know its pronounce with a W sound and not with a V, I know at least that much about the Latin language). I have a rough outline for this fic and the story kind of writes itself in the heat of inspiration.**

 **Regardless I hope this chapter finds you all well, I thank everyone who has favorite and followed my story so far and again a very special thank you to the reviewers.**


	7. The Seer

**Shape Shifter**

* * *

 **I don't own Naruto, Naruto is the property of Kishimoto Masashi and is not my intellectual property. There is no financial gain made from this nor will any be sought. This is for entertainment purposes only.**

* * *

 **The Seer**

* * *

I slowly began to stand from my seated position in the middle of my practically bare bedroom, I had been keeping this leaf on my forehead for nearly five minutes now and felt ready to try to go the next step.

The leaf began to wobble as I slowly stood up, I stalled for a moment, my eyes closed in concentration. A moment later the leaf stabilized and I slowly opened my eyes, the afternoon sun leaking into my room through the thin white curtains of the widow directly in front of me. I moved my body to a standing position very slowly, a few seconds later and I was postured at full heights with my back strait.

I slowly lifted my right foot up, the leaf wobbled and again I closed my eyes in concentration. It took me nearly a full minute to keep the leaf steady but I managed it, I then lowered my right foot very carefully, the literal first step of the hardest part of the leaf concentration exercise complete.

I smiled and slowly lifted my left foot, more wobbling, another minute and a half of concentration and yet another step was slowly taken. My third step was the easiest so far, the leaf only wobbling slightly and taking me only half a minute to stabilize, a forth step and this time the leaf stayed stable for the most part. A fifth step and I allowed myself to look towards my goal, the other side of the room only ten feet away, it might as well be thirty with my tiny legs. Unfortunately this proved to be a mistake as the slip of concentration pulled too much chakra into my forehead and the leaf was shredded while simultaneously pushed away from me.

I glared down at the destroyed plant matter at my feet, _"A week of obsessing over this damn exercise and I still haven't gotten it down, how the hell am I supposed to compete with the monsters of this world if I can't do the simplest fucking thing!?"_ I rage inwardly.

"That was a good job sweetie, you've almost got this bit down," Shio's voice startled me, I did not scream like a girl, that is a lie, fake news.

Shio giggled at my deer caught in the headlights expression, "sorry about that," she did not look sorry, "we're going to get out of this stuffy apartment, do you want to come with Ietaka and I to go out to eat for lunch?" Shio asked.

I rub my head lightly, the warmth in my forehead that overusing my chakra caused slowly fading away, "sure, I need a break any way," Shio clapped her hands happily at my response.

"Very good, go and take a bath, you're starting to stink Isamu-chan," she said with a giggle before leaving the room.

I nod and grab some clothes from my dresser, Shio learned a while ago that I don't like people dressing me or picking out my clothes for me, only one person was allowed to do that and she's gone.

I forced the memory that tried to bubble up to the surface back to the void in my heart where it belongs, I took out a red short sleeved shirt with white shorts and the obligatory underwear before heading to the bathroom.

* * *

About two minutes later the water was hot enough for me to get into the tub, I gave a long drawn out sigh as my tense muscles slowly relaxed.

With a quiet moment to myself, without trying to force a leaf to stick to me with my inner arcane abilities, I allowed myself to pondered my situation.

" _What do I want to do in the future, what kind of person do I want to be in this world that allows for so many possibilities. I barely even know who I am now, am I Isamu, a boy born into a nearly extinct clan, or am I John, the failure who never amounted to anything?"_ I ask myself.

I scrub shampoo into my hair, racking my nails into my skin in anger as I remembered my past life, _"being smart in the easiest subject in all of academia isn't something to be proud of. If you can remember the plot of little red riding hood than congratulations you're good at history. What can I bring to the table, how can I make this world better, what can I offer this world that it wouldn't have without my existence?"_ I take a breath and plunge my head into the bath water, a second later I surface with most of the shampoo on my head washed off.

" _Is this world even worth saving, if Kaguya succeeds than she basically just creates the matrix, and is that so bad? Who's to say what is real and what isn't, technically speaking the world I'm in now isn't even supposed to be real so why is Kaguya's dream world any different?"_ I sigh as I scratch my back with a small hand towel that was caked in soap.

" _No that won't work for me, she's xenos scum anyway, if I remember right. I might agree somewhat that chakra shouldn't be in the hands of man but she has no right to rule this world. If she really cared than she wouldn't have allowed the warring clans period to go on, she might not have full blame on every bad thing that ever happened in this world but she does take guilt by not doing anything about it, with great power comes great responsibility after all."_ I submerge myself in water once again to wash off the soap on my body.

" _I don't know how I'm going to change things, I don't even know when or even if I'm able to make a difference, but like grandmamma June used to say, ya ain't have no right to complain if ya ain't willing to try and change what ya complaining about."_ I smile at the memory of Grandmamma June, even after all of these years after her death she was still guiding me through life like she never even left.

I got out of the tub and dried myself off with a towel, _"either way I need to get stronger if I want to attempt to change things for the better. It's not like my past world where money is everything, no, I was born with nothing, I have no titles, no claims, no name. Might makes right so the only way to get this world to acknowledge you is to stand head and shoulder above the rest, not just good, or even great, but the best of the best."_ I muse as I put on my cloths and make my way out of the bathroom.

* * *

Shio smiled as she allowed her son to lead her to his choice of lunch for today, the boy seemed keen on finding something in particular, she was fine with whatever he chose. Kaizen were known for many things, being picky eaters was defiantly not one of them. Shio then became distracted by the faint sound of feet landing on a building about five yards away.

Shio's brown eyes narrowed ever so slightly at the passing Shinobi, her body momentarily tensing out of instinct the moment she saw the glint of a headband in the afternoon sun. But as the Shinobi leaped away the next moment, Shio allowed herself to relax slightly, "this village is going to give me gray hairs," Shio whispered to Ietaka.

Ietaka gave a side glance to his wife, "this was your idea remember, say the word and I'm more than willing to get out of here," Ietaka commented.

Shio sighed and looked down at her son, his small smile as he kept searching for whatever food he was in the mood for, the way said smile grew at the passing villagers that occasionally greeted them as they walked down the streets. No she couldn't leave just yet, Konoha, despite what he witnessed at the Chunin exams, would be good for her little boy, being exposed to new people, new ideas, and new ways of life, it would allow him to get his own opinion of the world, and help the boy realize for himself that ninja are not to be trusted. But she desperately wished that she didn't have to isolate him so, a Kaizen's nature is to be free and roam the wilds, but these are desperate times and the world would stop at nothing to kill or capture them if they knew that the Kaizen are still alive.

Shio saw Isamu stop in front of a small ramen stand a little bit on the outskirts of where most of the other restaurants and food stands were located. "Is this where you want to have lunch?" Shio asked.

Her sweet little boy gave her a big grin and ran into the stand, Ietaka chuckled at the their son's bout of excitement. It was rare to see the boy so expressive, but this village had brought out the child in him, she could at the very least thank Konoha for bringing wonder to her little boy.

* * *

I desperately attempted to hoist myself into a stool of the most iconic ramen stand in popular culture , being in this ramen stand was on the level of buying your first wand at Ollivanders wand shop or ordering a Krabby Patty at the Krusty Krab, okay maybe not as exciting as the Krusty Krab but it was up there.

After a few seconds of struggle I felt myself being pulled by the back of my shirt, Ietaka held me up at his eyes level, looking at me like he just picked up a puppy by the scruff of their neck.

I glared at the man in indignation, "hey I could have got up all by myself," I declared with a huff.

Ietaka chuckled deeply, "somehow I don't really think so pup," he said, apparently he too caught the similarities I had drawn.

I couldn't help but to growl at the man, but my anger was cut short by the sound of another man speaking up to get our attention.

"Welcome to Ichiraku ramen, how may I help you?" I look to see Teuchi giving the three of us a big smile.

Ietaka handed me over to Shio who had already sat down, I being three years old couldn't be trusted not to fall of a stool so high up so was relegated to sitting in Shio's lap, which is still very annoying, _"damn body needs to hurry up and grow or they need to show me how to manipulate it manually,"_ I lament.

"Yes I will be having a large venison ramen with onions," Ietaka ordered.

I already knew what I wanted, Naruto hyped it up so much I knew I just had to try it, "I'll have a medium bowl of miso ramen with pork," I stated.

Shio hummed for a moment, "I'll have a large bowl of chicken ramen with carrots."

Teuchi smiled and nodded before looking down, "did you get all that sweetie?" He asked kindly.

I looked at the man in confusion for a second before a little voice spoke up from behind the counter, "I sure did Otosan, one large bowl of venison ramen with onions, one medium bowl of miso ramen with pork, and one large bowl of chicken ramen with carrots!" The little voice chirped happily.

If it was possible, Teuchi's smile widened even further, "very good Ayame-chan, now let's go in the back and get the dough ready," he said before picking up an adorable looking eight year old girl with hair as brown as mine and big black eyes.

Shio couldn't hold in her motherly instincts, "aww, you have such a cute looking daughter, mister…" Shio let the sentence hang.

Teuchi smiled at Shio, "the name's Teuchi Ichiraku miss…" It was his turn to question.

"Shio," Shio said friendly.

"Isamu," I said with a smile while looking at the adorable little Ayame, even if I was horrible with kids I could still call them cute, well not the very young kids, the very young ones are just nasty with their snotty noses and drool and such.

"Ietaka," Ietaka said in his usual gruff response towards strangers.

"Well its nice meeting you three, new customers are always welcome!" Teuchi declared before disappearing to the back of the stand.

"Well this certainly is a nice place, good pick Isamu-chan," Shio commented.

Ietaka grunted, "if it's anything like the ramen from the land of noodles then I can't complain."

I see Shio lightly slap Ietaka's shoulder, "please, I've seen you eat a week old hyena corpse in the middle of the summer."

Ietaka idly tapped the disposable chop stick provided by the stand on the counter, "yeah but then again I was a buzzard, that doesn't really count," he countered.

This talk of our bloodline is only getting me pumped for training, _"aren't I supposed to be relaxing...nah fuck it, they need to spill some beans."_

"When can I start doing that stuff Kaasan?" I ask.

Shio and Ietaka shared a look before Shio responded, "I'll tell you what, if you walk around your entire room twice without the leaf dropping from your head then I'll start you on something small."

" _Fuck yes!"_ I yelled inwardly, but outwardly I just gave Shio a big grin.

A few minutes later our orders were in front of us and I dived into the bowl of ramen, I was a bit skeptical though despite Naruto's hype, the only experience I've ever had with ramen was quick and cheap college student ramen. I've never had actual restaurant quality ramen, so I was surprised to find that the food that had just entered my mouth to be quite tasty, it's pretty good, not amongst my top five or even top ten foods, but it was good, way better than the peasant version that my poor ass always had to eat.

"So where are you three from, I've never seen you around the village before?" Teuchi asked.

Ietaka politely swallowed his food before answering, "we're from Tanpo village a few days north east of here, it's a nice quite place, out of the way. We are blessed to be directly under the domain of the Fire Daimyo so we rarely ever see trouble, unless the shinobi bring it that is." Ietaka couldn't help but to add.

I could see Teuchi making an effort to bite his tongue at the blacksmith's passive aggressive tone to the village's protectors. Thankfully Shio, like always, deflected the tension in a way that only she could do.

"Konoha really went all out this year for the Chunin exams, was there a special occasion for it Teuchi-san?" Shio asked.

Teuchi's attention turned to her and smiled brightly, his earlier offence either forgotten or the ramen chief is much better at hiding his emotions than most give him credit for. "O yes this year's Chunin exams was a very special one, it is the first one Konoha has hosted since the honorable sacrifice of Namikaze-sama," Teuchi's face sobered at the mention of Minato.

The atmosphere in the small ramen stand become quite heavy, similar to that of a funeral, I never did well in funerals. I quickly finished my ramen and tugged on Shio's sleeve, "I'm all done, we can go now," I said as I noticed that Ietaka and Shio had already finished well before I did.

Shio smiled down at me, "alright let's get going then, Ietaka pay Teuchi-san for his well-made food will you?" Shio worded it like a question, strange how women like to word orders like questions all the time.

* * *

Shio and Ietaka seemed content to follow my lead today, I could tell that they were worried about me, I had barely even left my room this past week and Shio had to stop me twice from getting chakra exhaustion. Them semi letting me go where I please seemed to be their way of showing that they supported me and had my back, it was considerate of them giving me at least a very small bit of independence for today.

I noticed that a lot of the decorations for the Chunin exams were already down, only the banners that advertised special prices and deals where still up and many of the buskers had already packed up and left.

I turned a corner and saw on the side of the street in between a weapons store and a small tea shop was the same blind fortuneteller I saw when I entered the village for the first time. The man was old and very skinny with his ribs showing under his very tanned skin, he had an orange cloth over his eyes and was wearing an old formally white pair of open robes that was yellowed with age and his grayish white hair was long and unkempt.

I approached the man who was humming to himself while he lit a stick of incense in a small black bowl, as I got within a few meters of the man his head turned towards me, the old man gave me a toothy yellowed grin. "It is rare one so young approaches me, the teller of stories" despite his unkempt and gangly appearance his voice was smooth and deep.

I stopped directly in front of the man with a curious look, "you tell stories?" I ask.

The man nods, "that I do, I can see a great many stories of the people who wish to know, but stories are ever changing and not all can be known for certain."

I scratch my nose, the smell of the incense getting a bit too strong for my liking, "so you're a fortuneteller?" I ask incredulously. All fortunetellers from my old world were scammers and liars, it's not possible to see the future, but in this world, with giant mountain sized foxes with nine tail, anything is possible.

I saw the man shake his head, "that I am not, for saying I am a fortuneteller implies that the stories I see are happy stories and good fortune comes upon those that I see. I am a seer, one who glimpses at the stories of others and can tell those who I see what things that may happen in their story, things that are, things that have been, or things that have yet to pass, sometimes it is good, most times it is not." The man then held out his wrinkled and calloused hand, palm facing up, "Do you wish to know what may happen in your story little one?" He asked.

I chewed my lip for a moment in thought, _"on one hand this guy could be bullshitting me and will make off with a few coin, but on the other he's a genuine seer and can tell me a future that may or may not come which would be more than worth a few ryo."_ I looked back towards Ietaka and Shio, to my surprise the pair wasn't looking at the man with the same distrust that they usually give strangers but were instead looking at the man with reverence and respect.

Ietaka stepped forward and put a few coin in the old man's open palm, said old man looked up at Ietaka and smiled. "A familiar story I see, it brings me joy to know that you have found your peace;" The Seer said serenely.

Before I could question what he meant the old man had spoken once more, "give me your hand child," he gently ordered.

I hesitantly gave him my right hand, the seer held up his left hand and cupped my tiny hand into his much larger ones by comparison and then put his right hand atop of my open palm. "Relax your mind little one, I will not hurt you," he said in a calming voice.

I breathed deeply and exhaled slowly, I looked down at my hand and saw a very faint blue glow begin to appear around the seer's hands. "That's good child, remember to breath…just breath," he instructed.

I kept breathing and the blue glow around his hands began to brighten gradually, I soon felt a warmth spread from the tips of my right fingers and up my arm, I closed my eyes when the warm feeling spread to my heart and I could feel my heartbeat in my ears. _"No that's not my heart…it's too strong…too slow to be mine…I can feel the old man's heartbeat…"_ I realized.

I felt oddly calm at the moment, my worries of the future felt small and my past weighed less on my shoulders.

"Your story is already half filled…little one," the old man whispered.

I couldn't bring myself to feel alarmed as the man found out about my reincarnation, I just felt so light at the moment, like nothing really matters.

"You are chasing something… or someone to be more accurate," his deep voice felt like it was echoing in my mind.

For the first time since the man grabbed my hand I felt the weight on my shoulders return.

"I see a book… a book of life… your name is not written in this book," the mournful voice of the seer echoed once again.

The void in my heart deepened as I heard his words, "I…is hername written in the book?" I asked in a voice barely even a whisper.

The man ignored my question and the grip on my hand tightened ever so slightly, "your quest…so fervent are you in this pursuit…your soul will go beyond boarders, beyond even your own God…I have not seen this in anyone." The seer confessed.

" _What am I chasing…what is he talking about?"_ I wondered.

"You will come upon a place, hidden under the world, dark and deep is this place, a sacrifice must be made, if you wish to become your true self." The old man gently let go of my hands.

My eyes sprang open and I gasped for air, I looked towards where the man was…but the seer was gone, the smell of incense heavy in the air.

"Isamu…Isamu where are you?!" I heard the panicked voice of Ietaka yell in the distance.

I look to my side where I last saw the couple and blinked, no sight of them, _"w…what the hell was that?!"_ I questioned.

Suddenly I hear a voice yell out, "O my baby I found you!" I was suddenly pulled off my feet and found my face buried into the right shoulder of Shio, her brown hair and strawberry scented shampoo easily giving her away.

A moment later I felt my feet touch the floor, I looked up to see the angry yet worried face of Shio glare down at me. "Where did you go young man, we looked away for one second, one, and you disappeared on us, how many times have we told you to always be near us, to never be out of our sight?!" Her eyes were watery as she balled her fists, imagines of my own mother giving me an ass whopping in the middle of the supermarket for being a spoilt brat began to take shape in my mind and my hands instinctive moved to cover my behind.

"Y…you were with me the whole time, I saw you behind me when I was talking with the old man!" I exclaimed, hoping to avoid Shio making me get a stick from a nearby tree to beat my ass raw with.

Shio narrowed her eyes down at me before she turned her chin up sniffing at the air rapidly, her face contorted in frustration and a moment later I saw a forked tongue briefly lick at the air. After a few moments of her walk around the road and lick at the air, Shio stopped and turned towards me with a frown. "All I smell is lavender, you aren't lying to me are you?" She asked, her eyes now yellow and slitted like her cat form as her forked tongue occasionally licked at the air.

I shook my head, "no, I was walking ahead of you and Otosan and turned a corner, then I saw this blind old man who said he was a seer, Otosan even gave him some money and he said he could read my story;" I explained my voice coming out rapidly.

Shio held up her hands, "okay, okay I believe you," She then poked me on the forehead, I felt a strange sensation pulse through my body, like every nerve suddenly heated up slightly and tingled my skin.

"Do you feel any different now sweetie?" She asked me.

I blinked and looked around the small side street, the sun was still the same color, the dirt path still dusty, Shio was still Shio despite the slight modifications to her current form. I shook my head, "no," I answered.

Shio sighed her eyes becoming her normal chocolate brown and her tongue retreated back into her mouth. "We should go, before your Otosan draws any more attention to himself," She said as she grabbed my hand and lead me towards the sound of Ietaka calling out my name.

As I was being pulled away from the side street I couldn't help but look back at the incense that slowly burned away into the small black bowl. _"Who the hell was that guy?"_

* * *

 **I love foreshadowing, epically vague foreshadowing.**

 **The next chapter or two will be Shio centric, maybe she meets some cool people maybe she doesn't, read more when it comes to find out.**

 **Thank you all who reviewed, I broke 100 follows and at one point had 69 favorites, nice, but that broke eventually too and now I have over 70! I hope this chapter finds you all well and I hope that you all return for more!**


	8. Shio

**Shape Shifter**

 **I don't own Naruto, Naruto is the property of Kishimoto Masashi and is not my intellectual property. There is no financial gain made from this nor will any be sought. This is for entertainment purposes only.**

* * *

 **Shio**

A week after the small scare of losing sight of her son, Shio Kaizen awoke in her temporary bed early in the morning, her body feeling unusually cold as her personal heater left for his duties back home a day ago. Now Shio would have to spend the next few months without her husband, the longest she's been without him in years.

The mother sighed longingly as she slowly got out of her blankets and headed towards her small closet, _"at least I'm not alone anymore when Ietaka leaves,"_ Shio thought with a smile. A motherly warmth filling her as imagines of her little boy smiling and sleeping in her arms flashed in her mind.

Shio pulled out a long yellow kimono that had vanilla colored waves accenting the hem, she then pulled out a similarly colored vanilla obi, the ensemble was designed to be eye catching yet simple. _"Get their attention but at the same time tell them that even a simple commoner can afford it, fancy dress for the common woman, Niwano Nishi's motto,"_ Shio reflected.

After she laid her cloths down on her bed she moved out of her bedroom and towards the bathroom, on the way however she was stopped by the sound of a wood wind instrument filling the apartment with soft music. Each note was held in a deep tune for several seconds, her mind going back many years to a large temple amongst tall mountains and the cold wind chilling her bones like a mournful ghost trying to grasp her attention. _"He's getting better at that duduk;,"_ Shio realized, but a second after she thought that a sharp note that screeched unpleasantly in her ears rang out from Isamu's room, _"but he still needs practice,"_ thought Shio with a mirthful giggle.

* * *

An hour later Shio finally finished getting ready after she cooked Isamu and herself breakfast, the Kaizen woman stepped into the living room, her son's back was to her as he lazily read a book that she had packed for him but she honestly didn't know what it was; Ietaka and her got into a small argument and she was anger packing at the time. Silently Shio stepped behind Isamu and looked over his shoulder, _"he's reading one of Ietaka's boring old shelf filler books, the biography of…some general or something;"_ she observed.

Shio then smiled mischievously as she leaned down slowly before clearing her throat right next to Isamu's left ear.

"Gah!" Her son yelled in surprise, throwing the book in the air and jumping off of the couch.

She giggled at the surprised look in her son's eyes, "Isamu-chan you need to be more aware of your surroundings;" the Kaizen woman advised with a smile.

Isamu had landed on the hardwood floor, his eyes looking up at his finely dressed mother, "you trying to give me a heart attack or something?" His squeaky voice only made Shio giggle even more.

" _He's getting more and more expressive by the day, and he was only exposed to that Anko girl for an hour and already he has so much sass. I don't know whether or not to be proud or annoyed;"_ Shio mused.

"Get up, we're heading towards a nearby park," Shio instructed.

Isamu looked at her curiously, "why the park?" He asked.

"Other mothers will be bringing their children to the park, it's a perfect opportunity for me to advertise the shop, you also need to learn to play with kids your own age," The Kaizen woman explained.

Isamu groaned, "but kid's my age are so boring," he said with a whine.

Shio grabbed his hand while pulling him to his feet, "you won't know that until you try, it'll be good for you." She insisted.

Isamu huffed lightly but didn't press, Shio was glad for that, her son rarely ever complained and if he did it was only halfheartedly. She knew it wouldn't last, when he becomes a teenager the rebellious phase would begin and he would want more and more independence, Shio decided to appreciate her son's compliance while it lasted.

* * *

Shio found the weather perfect for a day at the park, it was warm enough to justify short clothing but not hot enough to demand it, her kimono wasn't dissimilar to the airy attire of the desert folk of the Land of Wind, it ventilated air well but could be wrapped around her body for cool nights.

The Kaizen woman felt a small amount of pride bloom in her chest when she saw a few women linger their gazes on her dress. _"To think, I'd become proud of something so… domestic;"_ She mused.

Her eyes were drawn down from the road to her son holding her hand, _"it's so different now from before,"_ her mind ventured back to a gloomy day, in her memory rain fell from the sky.

" _We have to save them!"_ Her younger self yelled in her mind's eye, her short black hair whipped around in the wind, Shio hadn't been thought of yet, only the warrior that she had been was alive back then.

In her distant memory another voice protested, a different face with a different name, the annoyance that was her distant cousin, always fighting for honor and what he believed to be right, a man that would become her love. _"They're already dead, I…I'm sorry, we need to go, they'll kill us if we don't run now!"_

It was one of the worst days of her life, their leaders were killed, people they put their trust into, people who they swore to protect, people who they would have died for. Shio squeezed Isamu's hand as she blinked back tears that threatened to ruin her eyeliner, _"I live in peace like you wanted, I live for you;"_ her old leaders would be proud of her, she hoped.

* * *

"Go on honey and play, that slide looks really fun," Shio gently encouraged as she light pushed Isamu's back towards the park, the late morning sun shone brightly in the sky, the wind lightly blowing in the leaves; two dozen children ran about screaming and laughing amongst each other.

Isamu gave Shio a nervous smile as he slowly walked forward, eyeing the children like they were a pack of wild animals. Her son's demeanor worried her and she couldn't help but to keep her eyes on her son's back, she had heard from Ietaka about his interactions with Sora from back home but seeing him so scared of children his own age, it made her wonder whether or not she was doing a good job as a mother.

Shio clasped her hands in front of her chest and bit her lip, Isamu looked back at her and she quickly changed to an encouraging smile, "it's okay Isamu-chan, go ahead, Kaasan is here," she told him.

Isamu gave a sigh before walking faster to a vacant swing that was low enough to the ground for him to get into without much trouble.

"First time mother?" Shio heard a voice ask to her side.

Shio looked to see a woman with brown hair tied in a bun, kept together by a red ribbon, her pupil free eyes were a lighter shade of brown than her hair, her skin was pale in color, she wore a teal colored dress that looked freshly pressed and she looked a few years older than Shio's twenty four year appearance.

Shio nodded at the woman with a friendly smile, "I am," she affirmed.

The older woman smiled back, "so am I, I was so nervous taking my little girl to the park for the first time, so afraid that the other children would make fun of her," the woman reminisced.

Shio let some of her worry fall away as she heard that her feeling were normal for a new mother, "where is your little one?" She asked.

The older woman pointed to a blond haired girl only five yards away picking wild flowers from the grass, "that's my little Ino-chan," the woman said with a proud smile, "what's you little boy's name?"

Shio turned her attention to Isamu, the boy had wondered away from the swings and was sitting in the shade of a tree, watching two older boys play with sticks like they were swords. She felt a frown tug at her lips, sighing lightly at the anti-social nature of her son. "That's Isamu-chan, he's, different, we don't have many children where we're from I'm afraid." She explained.

The older woman turned her gaze from Isamu to Shio, "you aren't from the village?" She questioned.

Shio nodded, "I'm from a small village a few days north east of here," the Kaizen woman informed.

The older woman kept her smile, " well welcome to Konoha, my name is Noriko Yamanaka," the now named Noriko introduced with a short bow.

Shio returned the bow with one of her own, "I'm Shio, just Shio,"

"So what brings you to Konoha?" Noriko asked.

Shio briefly flickered her eyes to her son, confirming he hadn't moved since he sat down in the shade. "I'm here on business, I'm to spread the word of Niwano Nishi's tailoring here in Konoha," she admitted.

Noriko's eyes widened in recognition, "is Niwano a small old lady without any teeth?" She asked.

Shio nodded in affirmation.

Noriko's smile brightened, "o thank Kami she survived the attack!" She exclaimed.

Shio looked at the woman questioningly, "how do you know Niwano-san?" she asked.

"Niwano-san made my wedding dress, and this," she said gesturing to her teal dress, "it's been so long since a decent tailoring store has opened in the village after the attack."

" _O this will make my job so much easier,"_ Shio thought with a smile, "Well you're in luck, Niwano-san is still in business, she's in Tanpo village getting ready for orders for the festival in October."

Noriko almost squealed and suddenly grabbed Shio's arm, the Kaizen woman had to resist the instinctual reaction to gut her with her claws, "O we have so much to talk about!" Noriko then pulled Shio to a nearby bench and sat down.

Shio relaxed when the woman let go of her arm, "does she still do custom orders, can she still make seals into her clothes, does she still make children sizes, did she make your cute kimono?" Noriko asked rapidly.

The Kaizen woman kept her smile on, using years of experience to school her expression from deadpanning at the sudden childishness at her fellow mother. "Yes, yes, yes, and no I made this one myself," she answered.

Noriko held her hand up, "may I?" She asked.

Shio nodded and raised her arm for the woman.

Noriko gently moved her hand across Shio's clothed arm, marveling at the softness of the fabric, "it's so well made, are you her apprentice?" The Yamanaka woman asked.

Shio giggled at the thought of Niwano calling anyone her apprentice, "I guess I sort of am, I and a few other girls work for her on most days."

"O I have so many ideas for dresses, say, me and my friends are getting together in a few days, how about you come over and design a few dresses for us, it'll be like a dress party," the Yamanaka woman looked like a kid in a candy store.

Shio couldn't believe her luck, "that would be wonderful, but…" her eyes looked towards Isamu who had moved a bit closer and was watching a few children pick teams for a game of ninja.

Noriko followed her gaze, "o you can bring little Isamu too, my friends will be bringing their sons along as well, my husband will be watching them, he's a good man." Noriko assured.

Shio didn't let the concerned frown she wanted to feel show on her face and just smiled brightly at the Yamanaka woman, "o thank you so much, I haven't had a girl day in so long."

Noriko nodded in understanding, "tell me about it, I love Ino-chan to death but sometimes she can run me up a wall," she said in exasperation.

Shio felt a bit of pride in her son hearing that, "my Isamu-chan is very well behaved for his age," Shio admitted, always loving boasting about her son even if it wasn't about his advances in his use of chakra.

Noriko looked towards the small child still under the shade of the trees, the boy looked quite out of his element, seeming to want to just watch other children rather than involve himself. "He's not very sociable I take it?" The Yamanaka asked.

Shio sighed lightly, "I don't know, he's fine with me and other adults but its children his own age he doesn't seem to want to interact with," she said.

Noriko hummed at that, "I think it's just a matter of being patience Shio-san, Isamu looks like a good boy, other children would love to be friends with him, so I wouldn't worry."

Shio nodded, feeling a bit better with the advice of another mother, "I hope you're right Noriko-san, it doesn't feel right to see my little boy all alone like this."

"I have an idea," said the Yamanaka.

Shio hummed questioningly, giving the woman a side glance but keeping her main focus on her son leaning against a tree.

"Ino-chan is a very kind girl, a bit smart for her age, gets it from her father, why don't you call your son over and I call my girl and we can introduce them," Noriko offered.

Shio nodded at the idea, "if it would help then I'm all for it," Shio then stood up and called for her son, "Isamu-chan come here a moment," her voice carried well to the boy.

Said boy stood up a second later, dusting the grass and pollen off his shorts and walked towards his Kaasan, a moment later the brown haired boy with deep chocolate brown eyes was standing in front of the pair of mothers.

"Yes Kaasan?" He asked politely, side eyeing the woman sitting next to Shio.

Shio glanced towards the Yamanaka woman, "Isamu-chan this is Noriko Yamanaka, Noriko-san this is Isamu-chan," she introduced warmly.

Isamu smiled up at the woman, "hello," the boy greeted.

Shio cleared her throat lightly, "Isamu-chan remember your manners," she advised.

Isamu widened his eyed in realization, "o sorry," the boy then bowed towards Noriko, "it's nice to meet you Yamanaka-san."

The Yamanaka woman giggled warmly, "it's very nice to meet you as well Isamu-san," Noriko replied with a smaller bow towards the boy.

"Noriko-san would like to introduce you to someone," Shio informed the Kaizen heir.

Noriko nodded, "yes I would," the woman turned her gaze towards the little blond haired girl playing in the flowers not too far away, "Ino-chan come here a moment," she called.

Ino perked up at the sound of her mother's voice and came toddling towards the trio, her little fists full of wild flowers, "Kaasan pretty flowers!" Ino chirped as she excitedly dumped the small pile of flowers unto Noriko's lap.

"Aw why thank you Ino-chan, these are very pretty," the Yamanaka woman smiled as she brushed a stray blade of grass out of her daughter's hair, she then picked Ino up into her lap, remembering to pick up the wild flowers and put them into Ino's lap. "Ino-chan this is Shio-san, and that's her little boy Isamu," Noriko introduced.

Ino waved her little arm toward the pair, "hello," she greeted with a big smile.

"Ino-chan Isamu isn't from the village so he doesn't have any friends right now, do you want to play with him and be his first friend in the village?" Noriko asked.

Ino looked wide eyed at the boy standing just a few feet away from her, "No friends?!" the little girl gasped as if she had never even heard of the notion before.

Before anyone could reply the little girl was by the boy's side and gripping his arm, "no, that's bad, you my friend now." The blond puffed out her cheeks and glared up at the slightly taller boy.

Shio giggled at Isamu's shocked face, "Uhh…" came the boy's eloquent reply.

Ino shook her head, "no, no, you say yes!" She yelled.

Isamu looked towards his Kaasan in bewilderment, deciding to take mercy on her son Shio decided to help, "Isamu-chan would love to be friends with you, right Isamu-chan?" There was a slight edge to her voice that brokered no argument.

Isamu nodded slowly, "uhh…yes?" He asked carefully.

Ino grinned brightly and began to pull him towards a different patch of wild flowers five meters away from the mothers, "Yay new friend, play flowers with me!"

Noriko giggled at the scene, "that's my little Ino-chan, she'll make you be her friend even if she has to drag you kicking and screaming all the way."

Shio couldn't help but join the woman in her giggling, yes Ino Yamanaka would be a good friend to her son.

"Wow how you do that, show me how to tie flowers too!" the loud voice of Ino yelled.

Yes a very good friend.

* * *

Shio's proud smile couldn't fall off her face even if she tried as she watched her little boy walk around his room with a leaf stuck to his forehead. The Kaizen woman sat on Isamu's bed has he made his first pass around the room, her skilled eyes watching the leaf remain firm to his head as if it was petrified. The boy walked slow carful steps, breathing evenly, meditating while moving wasn't unheard of but Shio had rarely ever seen one use it much less a three year old, another marvel that her son accomplished all on his own.

Shio kept her hand over her mouth from squealing in excitement as her boy made his second pass, "very goo-" Shio stopped herself once she realized that Isamu wasn't done yet. The appointed goal was to walk around his room twice with the leaf sticking to his forehead, now Isamu was going for a third pass and the leaf remained as still as stone, she was so proud!

When Isamu was within reach after his third pass, Shio grabbed Isamu's shoulder, stopping the boy where he stood. "Good job Isamu-chan, you walked around the room three times."

Isamu looked up at his Kaasan wide eyed, "I did?" He asked.

Shio deadpanned at her son, "you weren't even paying attention were you?"

"Uhh…well you always said to trust in my chakra so…I think I kind of did," Isamu said sheepishly.

This wasn't what she meant by not thinking about the leaf on his forehead, but a promise is a promise. "You still need to work on it, yes you should trust in your chakra but don't surrender total control to it, if you aren't paying attention to your surrounding you could end up in big trouble, do you understand?" Shio lectured.

Isamu nodded in understanding, "okay, but does this mean you'll show me how to shift?" He asked with wide puppy dog eyes.

To someone who has had literal puppy dog eyes before the effect wasn't as much as it should have been, but this being her little boy her immunity was counter balanced to this fact and her defenses crumbled.

"O you are so cute Isamu-chan!" Shio squealed, picking him up and squeezing him like a plushy.

"C…choking…breath"

" O sorry," she giggled, Shio let her boy down and walked towards the hallway as if nothing happened, "alright follow me, these curtains are too thin for my liking and the bathroom is too small so the hallway will have to do."

" _But if they suspect anything and send a Hyuga to spy on us then there isn't anything we could do,"_ Shio lamented inwardly.

The Kaizen woman then sat down near the end of the hallway, making sure she couldn't be seen through the windows from the living room and the kitchen while Isamu sat down only a few feet away from her in front of his closed bedroom door.

Before starting Shio sent chakra into her nose, the cartilage and bone transformed through her will as it took the features and abilities of a bloodhound. Using her chakra to enhance the already superb capabilities of the canine nose she begun to sniff out any unwanted listeners, the Kaizen woman could smell the tobacco that an old woman was using two floors down, the smell of an infant vomiting on his father's flak jacket five apartments over. Shio focused more on the smell of a potential shinobi, the flak jacket was older, it smelled of salt and the elusive ghost scaled fish that was native to the shores of Rice Country, the fishy smell was only a few days old, giving Shio more information that was truly relevant. _"Nothing of note there,"_ Shio decided. After a few more seconds of sniffing Shio was satisfied that there was no unwanted attention on them, at least for now.

Another small use of chakra and a brief moment of forming cartilage and snapping bone later and Shio was back to normal. Isamu looked at his Kaasan with wide eyes, "wow," he said in awe.

Shio wanted to giggle at his expression but now was the time for teaching, "what you just saw Isamu is something called a partial-minor transformation, a part of the three types of transformations," Shio paused to see if Isamu was following along.

The boy had straitened his back and was looking intently at her, she only ever used his name without the affectionate suffix if it was serious.

"The three type of transformation are, lesser, partial, and greater, with partial and greater having two subdivisions of transformation. The sub divisions for partial are partial-minor and partial-major and the two subdivisions for the greater transformation are called greater-human and greater-animal but you don't need to worry about partial and greater transformations for a long time now."

At Isamu's nod Shio continued.

"You will be learning the easiest of the lesser shifts, bite your nails Isamu," Shio instructed.

Isamu looked at her questioningly before he bit his small nails, "bite them down to your fingers if you can manage it but don't hurt yourself," continued Shio.

A moment later Shio held out her hand, "let me see," Isamu then put both of his little toddler hands into Shio's much larger right hand.

The Kaizen woman nodded, "the nails are the easiest of the lesser transformations because they naturally grow on the human body over time as well as being located in one of the easiest places to control chakra into. The hair is only slightly more difficult because the head is the second hardest place to control chakra in the human body."

Isamu nodded, "what is a lesser shift anyway?" He asked curiously.

Shio smiled, "a lesser shift is also known as a cosmetic shift, it's pretty much anything that changes the appearance of your current form but doesn't require the changing of bone or muscle structures." She informed.

Isamu hummed at that, "so like hair color and stuff?" He asked.

Shio nodded, "exactly, for example," a small pulse of chakra sent to her head and Shio's brown hair changed to bright purple. "But I can also shorten it," Shio willed her hair to diminish until it was the length of her jaw line.

"Wow," Isamu whispered.

"Yes it is quite amazing, being able to be whomever you want at a will, but just remember you'll always be my little Isamu-chan and I'll always be your Kaasan," Shio imparted.

Isamu nodded his head, "so what do I do?" he questioned.

Shio scooted on the floor to be a bit closer to her boy, she still hadn't let go of his hands. "Well it is quite simple really for these types of transformations, all you need is send your chakra into your nails and control it, like the feeling of when you sent chakra into your forehead to stick the leaf but this time focus on pushing the chakra into your nails. Think of them growing and concentrate on that image, the same could be said for shortening them, with time and patience you will be able to do this without need of thought, it will become as easy to you as walking;" lectured Shio.

The Kaizen woman could feel Isamu's hands warm slightly as he pushed chakra into them, noting that he still had a long way to go in control if she could feel him manipulate chakra just by skin to skin contact.

Isamu closed his eyes in concentration, looking more like he was battling a hard bowl movement rather than manipulating his chakra, a minute passed without event, and another minute with the same results, until after five minutes Shio's keen eyes saw Isamu's nail on his right pointer finger grow just a hair of an inch. "You're doing it Isamu-chan, keep trying, I know you can do it," she gently encouraged.

Both mother and son sat on the hallway floor for an hour, Shio instructing her boy and encouraging him every so often and Isamu focusing and trying hard not to force an aneurism with too much concentration.

In the end Shio decided to start working on dinner while Isamu was left to his own devices, by bed time Isamu was able to grow three of his nails on his right hand, his pointer finger, thumb, and middle finger, back to their previous length before he bit them. Shio was confident by the time they had to return home, Isamu would have mastered his first lesser transformation.

* * *

 **A small bit of information, when I use characters from the anime but they aren't named I use the name of their Japanese voice actor, just something that I thought I'd share in hopes it might inspire other people to use that idea too. Maybe one day we can make a consistent fanon name for character's like the Fire Daimyo and Ino's mom and Choji's mom, it's not like Kishimoto will bother with world building anyway, he's too busy worry about whether or not a character is marketable rather than the integrity of his own creation.**

 **Time skips are getting closer and closer, the time spent in Konoha is an important event and probably be the most notable thing in Isamu's life that doesn't involve his bloodline, at least for the first few years.**

 **Lastly If the entire or vast majority of a chapter is in the perspective of another character I will use the name of that character as the title of the chapter, obvious inspiration for that is obvious since these chapters are third person limited and my profile avatar is a big clue.**

 **Thanks for reading, big thanks to everyone who had followed and favorited the story so far, big thanks to the reviewers, 25 reviews is well above what my shit writing deserves so thank you all so much.**


	9. Meeting New Friends

**Shape Shifter**

 **I don't own Naruto, Naruto is the property of Kishimoto Masashi and is not my intellectual property. There is no financial gain made from this nor will any be sought. This is for entertainment purposes only.**

* * *

 **New Friends**

* * *

I didn't know what to feel as Shio lead me towards the Yamanaka household, meeting Ino was completely out of left field , not something I had planned on or even wanted to happen for several year to come.

I felt like I was stepping around glass every minute I was interacting with the toddler Ino, yes she seemed a bit ahead of the mental curb than most children for whatever reason, but it still felt like almost everything I said or did went over the little girl's head.

Shio graciously allowed me to stay indoors most of the following day as I was messing around with the new lesser transformation that she taught me. It was difficult to say the least, I still had the mental block that I was trying to overcome, over twenty years of being told the world worked one way and then suddenly being put in a world that contradicts nearly everything you understood about the universe, yeah it's going to take a while to let go of old habits and ways of thinking.

But despite that excuse I still felt my progress was abysmally slow, cosmetic shifts should be easy according to Shio, especially the nails, and it even made since. Your nails naturally grew over time and you used your hands as a somatic component to cast spells, thus being easy filters to channel inner arcane energy. But it was much easier said than done, I needed to imagine my nails growing while also willing my chakra into the right shape and grow them, all the while being mindful to not overload my fingers least they explode and leave me crippled for life. Or maybe I'm over thinking again and should trust my chakra more, or was it less? The trance like state I allowed myself to get into during the leaf exercise the other day was unnerving, not because I let myself trust in my chakra but the feeling that it was so natural to lose yourself was what really got to me.

I was jarred out of my thoughts by the sound of Shio knocking on a red colored door, we were standing in front of a two story house that had about a half-acre of cut grass surrounding it. The garden out front was beautifully well kept, I wasn't a florist so the only flowers that I could recognize on sight were the rose bushes that acted as a sort of organic fence for a eastern section of the garden.

A moment later and the door opened to reveal Noriko Yamanaka, this time in a light blue dress under a beige colored apron that had some sort of powder on her chest, I could also tell that apparently some small child had also gotten into the same powder if the little hand prints near the bottom of the apron were anything to go by.

"Shio-san welcome, the girls and I are so excited to begin!" Noriko greeted excitedly.

Shio herself had opted for a red skirt and long sleeved black shirt, a possible statement that her shop could have a varied clientele that didn't only cater to those wanting to dress up but also have functionality. Smart considering that we're more than likely about to be surrounded by ninja for the majority of the day, I could also see Shio's leather satchel that she was carrying around her left arm, didn't know what was in it though, too busy with my transmutation.

"I brought a few sketch books and some measuring tape with me, so I'm all prepared with whatever you girls throw at me," Shio announced as we walked through the doorway.

The inside was pretty cozy, the Yamanaka apparently didn't keep too much in the way of tradition when it comes to their architecture, the wooden floors where a given in most of the village but that L shaped couch that lined the back wall of the living room and the large dining table to my left was defiantly not from the Sengoku period like half of the village was.

"Chiharu-chan, Yoshino-chan, Shio-san is here!" Noriko called.

I could hear bare footsteps come walking closer from the kitchen area, and from around a corner appeared a heavy set woman with short, black hair and eyes which were accentuated by orange markings at each corner. She also wore a light shade of lipstick, a pair of red, stud earrings along with a high-collared purple blouse which had gold trimmings, and she wore black shorts that fell just below her knees.

Behind the first woman was someone that I vaguely recognized as Yoshino, she had long, dark brown hair that was kept in a low ponytail with three strands framing her face, fair skin and dark eyes. She was wearing a purple blouse and black colored skirt along with an apron over it. She also wore a pair of simple hoop earrings, each woman looked around the same age as Noriko, so in their mid to upper twenties I would say.

"It is very good to meet you Shio-san," Chiharu greeted with a bow.

"I am so excited to have some girl time again, welcome Shio-san," Yoshino copied Chiharu's respectful bow.

Shio bowed back to the women, "thank you for allowing me and my son to spend the day with you," she replied.

The Nara and Akimichi woman seemed to finally take notice of me and sent me two warm smiles my way, I bowed politely to the women, finding it easier to bow in respect to normal people than it was bowing in submission to the Daimyo and his Samurai but still feeling very awkward in this semi-formal environment. "Hello, I'm Isamu, thank you for inviting me," if my voice was any more subdued then I would run the risk of impersonating Hinata.

"So well mannered," Yoshino commented friendly.

"So cute," said Chiharu in a restrained girly squeal.

Noriko stepped forward, "my husband is in the back with the rest of the kids, come you should meet him," the Yamanaka woman lead Shio and I forward into a short hallway until we came upon some sort of sitting room with a door that no doubt lead to the back yard.

"Inoichi-kun my guest Shio is here with her son," Noriko announced as she opened the back door and lead Shio and I out.

In the back was a small koi pond with, surprise, surprise, an even larger garden of flowers, trees, and other plants surrounding the pond. Actually the garden took up most of the space in the back yard with only a few patch stone walk ways that twisted around the garden to ease navigation in this vast garden.

Inoichi was sitting on a wooden bench that was in the shade against the side of the house, the man looked nearly identical to how he was in the manga and anime, only a decade younger and was taller, or not, I am quite short being only three years old.

The man stood up and bowed in greeting to Shio, "a pleasure to finally meet you, Noriko-chan has barely shut her mouth about finally getting her own fashion designer," the man joked with a chuckle.

"I…I did no such thing!" Noriko stammered with a slight blush.

Shio held her hand up trying to cover her giggle, "I wouldn't go that far Noriko-san, I'm just a humble seamstress," the Kaizen woman teased.

Noriko huffed in indignation, "Inoichi-kun take care of Isamu will you, Shio-san and I have things to discuss," The Yamanaka woman turned on her heel and walked back into the house.

Shio turned towards me with a smile, "be good for Inoichi-san please, I'll be just inside if you need me okay."

I nodded at her, "I'll be good," I assured.

Shio kneeled down a bit to kiss my forehead before heading back inside the house.

It was now me seemingly alone with Inoichi, the man had sat back down on his bench, "So I heard you met my daughter Ino-chan the other day," he stated.

I nodded my head, "yes sir, she was real nice and we played flowers together," I knew I had to keep a level of childishness about me but I also knew if I tried to play it too thick in front of one of the lead interrogators in the village than he would see right through it.

Inoichi hummed, "that's nice, my wife told me you're from out of the village." It was a statement but I knew it was a roundabout way of asking me where I'm from, a kid wouldn't have picked up on it.

"Yep, we walked behind Daimyo-sama to get here, the Samurai were so cool with their big horses and the ninja were like, whoosh, and were running all in the trees outside the gates!" I drew upon my original excitement at seeing super soldiers for the first time, using wide hand gestures and sound effects with my mouth to accent the dramatic bits of my story.

Inoichi chuckled lightly at my descriptions, "would you like to meet some new friends, Chiharu-san and Yoshino-san brought their boys over to play with Ino-chan."

I nodded my head, although I knew I wouldn't be meeting the Shikamaru and the Choji that I was familiar with, them being only a few years old at this point, I could still feel some excitement at meeting them.

Inoichi stood up and walked forward deeper into the garden, I couldn't see over the tall flowers and bushes so the whole area might as well have been a maze for me, but Inoichi was taller than me so the clan leader easily navigated the miniature jungle he called a backyard. I followed Inoichi as he turned a corner along the stone pathway to find Ino, Choji, and Shikamaru playing around with a bunch of smooth stone perfect for skipping on the surface of a lake.

Ino was trying her leveled best to create some sort of tower with the stones while Choji was fascinated by the sound two stone made when rubbing them together and Shikamaru was actually making some sort of house with his stones.

"Ino-chan, Isamu is here," Inoichi announced.

Ino looked up from her rendition of the leaning tower of Pisa with wide, exited eyes, "Isa-kun!" Ino shouted loudly and before I knew it I was promptly glomped by a little ball of yellow. "Isa-kun play rocks with us Isa-kun!"

I didn't have a choice in the matter, I was dragged away from Inoichi's side in seconds, I didn't struggle anymore though, Ino was too stubborn and too cute to deny, she reminded me of a Chihuahua very cute but also very loud.

"Shika, Cho this is Isa-kun, our new friend!" Ino announced.

Looks like they don't get a say in the matter either, at least she's using her take charge personality for making new friends rather than being a spoilt brat, although I suspect that Inoichi or Noriko will have to put their foot down more than once in the coming years when she eventually steps out of line.

Choji is the first to acknowledge me, the plump boy waddles over a few feet closer to me and smiles while banging his rocks together, the sound promptly grabs his attention and just like that I'm all but forgotten about in the boys mind.

Shikamaru turns his head up from his house building and waves towards me but gets back to his own devices, he's actually being very attentive and is doing his best to keep the rock house symmetrical enough to be stable. Who knew that chibi Shikamaru was more proactive than older Shikamaru, _"It's probably because he's more exposed to Yoshino at this age than he is with his father,"_ I reason.

Ino sits me down next to her, and shoves a handful of rocks into my lap, "Isa-kun play rocks!" the Chihuahua insists with a big smile.

I didn't really know what 'play rocks' meant, but a quick glance over at the tower and Shikamaru's Flintstones style house gave me enough context clues to know what I need to do, _"So proto Legos then I guess, the type that my grandpa would say he played with after walking up hill in the snow for two days."_ I surmised.

I 'played rocks' with Ino and by play I mean Ino told me where to put the rocks and I listened, little bossy chibi but the big smile she had on her face would have probably melted even Madara's heart.

"Look, look Papa, me and Isa-kun made home!" Ino shouted.

All I really did was put the stones in a circle around her tower and set other stones in a teepee shape to act as the 'houses.'

Inoichi came forward and knelt down in front of Ino, "my that's so wonderful Ino-chan, it looks really pretty," the father said with a beaming smile.

Ino looked like she was vibrating with happiness before she launched herself at her father and wrapped her little arms around his neck.

Inoichi acted like he was taken off guard and fell on his back, "oof you got me!" he cried.

Ino cackled as she began jumping on her father's chest, "Jump on Papa jump on Papa!" Ino yelled.

Shikamaru and Choji ran excitedly over and jumped onto the dog pile, the sound of laughing children and the deep chuckle of Inoichi resonated in the garden.

I smiled at the sight seeing the children roll around and jump atop Inoichi, it made the whole garden seem all the more brighter.

I suddenly felt a small hand pull on the collar of my shirt and begin to drag me, "Isa-kun come on before he escapes!" Ino shouted.

I was shoved onto the stomach of Inoichi, the memories being forced down like usual as I felt myself being dragged up by my hands. Ino's beaming smile melted away the gloom in my mind, I allowed myself, at least for a few hours, to forget about John and for now, just be Isamu.

* * *

Lunch was soon upon us and all four of us kids were sat down on large cushioned pillows around the coffee table in the living room, we had cut up vegetables and rice in our bowls, the adults sat only a few meters from us in the dining room at the large wooden table.

Ino kept looking at her mother, mimicking her refined way of eating as best she could, Shikamaru sometimes put his elbows on the table but as soon as he realized he did so, retracted them quickly while nervously watching Yoshino. Choji and I on the other hand just shoveled the food into our mouths, using the chop sticks more as a way to keep the food from flowing out of the bowl rather than as proper eating utensils. But who could blame us, it was hot, and we played around in the back yard for hours, that's a lot of exercise for growing boys like us.

A few minutes of eating and Choji and I sat our bowls down at the same time, "could we have some more please?" I asked from my seat, Choji nodded his head rapidly in agreement.

Chiharu giggled, "of course you can, growing boys need all the food they can get!" She exclaimed before walking back into the kitchen.

"It's not every day you see an Akimichi being kept pace with a non-clan born," Yoshino observed idly.

Shio smiled good naturedly, "gets it from his father I suppose," Shio suggested.

Inoichi hums at that, "you said your husband works as a black smith right?" He asked.

Shio nods, "that he does Inoichi-san."

The clan head nodded, "Is he experienced in working with armor and chakra metal?"

Shio put a hand on her chin in thought, "I'm not entirely certain with chakra metal, it's very rare from what I understand but he could have run into it during the war, you'll have to ask him. But armor on the other hand he is very experienced in, Ietaka-kun is the most skilled black smith between Konoha and the capitol so he sees a lot of business from Samurai when they pass though the village." She informed.

Chiharu appeared before me with two large bowls in her hands, this time more meat was mixed into the vegetables and rice, from the smell I could tell it was a mix of pork and chicken, "eat up boys," the Akimichi woman smiled, and just like that I was already face deep into another bowl.

A minute later I came out of my bowl to pace myself, last thing I want is to lose my lunch because I ate too fast.

"Developed chakra coils?" I heard the ending to Inoichi's question.

I looked over to see Shio had dropped her chopsticks into her own bowl, a look of surprise on her face, "you're a sensor?" She asked.

All the other mothers had sat up in their chairs, looking between Shio and I.

Inoichi gave nothing away, "possibly," he responded.

Shio looked at me and gave me a reassuring smile, _"it's okay,"_ I told myself, _"we got our cover story, same old bullshit you gave Anko, Asuma, and Kurenai_ , _we'll be totally fine."_

"I was trained how to defend myself yes, I was young during the second war and my father who taught me all I knew fell along with the rest of my village that lay near the border with Grass. My skills allowed me to keep alive during the third war when I was running messages for different nobles and companies, I've taught what little I know to my husband and Isamu-chan," Shio answered.

Inoichi hummed, looking intensely at Shio's face, "yes that would explain why you two both have advanced coils for civilians, which nobles and companies did you run for?" He asked.

Shio looked up In thought, "I ran a few for the Daimyo's cousin, you know the one with the club foot?" She asked.

Inoichi and Yoshino nodded, "I've met him once on a mission," Yoshino affirmed.

"A few for the Gato corporation, a courter in the Daimyo's court from the Land of Hot Water, a few for Konoha as well when Kiri got involved in the Third War and your Genin runners were spread too thin." Shio answered.

Chiharu's face lit up in recognition at that last bit of information, "o so you worked for the Humming Birds?" She asked.

Yoshino and Noriko looked at Chiharu in confusion, "the Humming Birds?" Noriko asked.

Shio answered for the Akimichi woman, "the Humming Birds was a messenger company that was funded by the Fire Daimyo's aunt during the Third War. She hired young people fast on their feet, preferably those who knew how to use chakra, I don't know the politics behind it but from what I understand it was her way to help the war effort. Unfortunately Lady Otomi passed away a few years after the war and with her death the money for the company dried up and it was disbanded."

Inoichi nodded, "yes that is right, not very many people know about that little obscure fact, I am sorry Shio-san if I sounded like I was interrogating you, Ninja paranoia and all," the clan head apologized sheepishly.

Shio gave him a friendly smile, "o I understand entirely, if I got mad at everyone who thought I was a spy then I would have never survived the war," she said with a giggle.

The tension around the room lifted with Shio's giggle, the adults going back to their meals for a time before conversation was struck once again.

"So Noriko-chan, Mokushi-san won the Chunin exams, how exiting!" Yoshino exclaimed.

I felt relief when I heard the subject change, that was twice now that Shio had to pull out her cover story and we haven't been here for a full month, hopefully now that a high ranking official has already written us off as a non-factor we won't be bothered again.

* * *

The weeks went by quickly after visiting Ino's house, I still worked on my lesser transformation and Shio would often drag me to one of the many parks around Konoha to tell as many people that she could about their lord and savior Niwano Nishi's tailoring.

Soon I found the first month had ended and July had come into full swing, apparently word has begun to spread more and more. The word of mouth cannot be underestimated, something that I have learned with my time in Konoha, this fact was evidenced when a sudden green blur descended from the roof tops with a great shout. A dust cloud was kicked up upon the blur landing atop the dirt covered roads of Konoha, I felt Shio tense and a loud boisterous voice boomed, the force of said voice was enough to clear the cloud away and reveal one of the strongest Shinobi in Konoha history.

"Yosh, you must be the apprentice to the eternally youthful Niwano-san, the one who created the most youthful clothing in all the world!" Maito Gai shouted exuberantly.

Shio was taken aback by the sheer energy from the green beast before her, instinctively putting herself between me and the shouting man.

"Uhh…I am…mister?" Shio asked unsurely.

Gai extended his arm out and gave a thumbs up to her while winking, his large grin accentuated the man's obvious love for dental hygiene if the sun reflecting off the man's t teeth was anything to go by. "My apologies, my name is Gai the beautiful green beast of Konoha, and I have come to you with a proposition to buy the most youthful clothes money can offer!"

Shio relaxed slightly and nodded her head, "umm, okay, what do you have in mind?" She asked.

"My beautiful lady I do ask you that you create for me, the most gorgeous and fabulous cloths in the world, the most sophisticated and eye catching yet stealthy attire man has ever known, the most hip and youthful fabrics ever put upon a human body! I ask for more green jumpsuits so that even as my body grows into more youthful and vibrant form, I will always have more in sizes great and even some in smaller sizes if one who seeks the path of youth under my wing ever appears to me! " Gai shouted passionately.

Shio deadpanned at Gai as he had struck a heroic pose during his speech, hands on his hips, left foot standing atop a nearby barrel, eyes gazing towards the horizon, it would all look very heroic if we weren't in the middle of a busy street. "So…you just want…more of what you're already wearing then, that's doable I guess."

Unlike Shio I had been looking up at the man in awe, the physical embodiment of martial arts in front of me, the only man who could have gone toe to toe with Madara mother fucking Uchiha in his badass god mode form. He might be younger now, bout eighteen or so, but just knowing what this man would be capable of, I so want him to be my sensei or even just a life coach to teach my lazy ass some self-discipline.

"Yosh, thank you my most beautiful lady, where about may I pick up my order?" The green beast asked.

"Tanpo village Gai-san, I assume you know the way?" Shio informed.

Gai began to stretch his legs before getting into a runners ready stance, "of course Tanpo village, the most youthful village not named Konoha, I shall run their now, and if I do not return by dinner I shall run their and back on one foot!" He shouted before he blasted off in a burst of speed sending dust up from the road blinding my vision for a brief moment.

"Uhh…what just happened?" I asked Shio.

Shio looked unblinking at small crater in the road left by Gai, "I, I don't know, but Kami help Niwano."

"He…he didn't ask your name did he?" I asked rhetorically.

Shio nodded, still dazed from getting the full blast of youthful fire for the first time, "I don't think I even want Niwano-san to know I sent him."

"I understand" I said as I squeezed Shio's hand a bit to reassure her.

Shio blinked a few times before shaking her head, "in all my years," I heard her mumble.

A voice interrupted Shio's interceptive thought, "o I know that look, come here Shio-san let me get you and Chipmunk here some lunch." Anko said as she approached us, hands in the pockets of her new beige trench coat.

Shio collected herself as Anko approached, "Anko-san how are you?" She asked.

Anko gave a little smirk, "been good, been good, I wanted to thank you for this trench coat, it saved my ass on my last mission," Anko explained.

Shio smiled, "o well that's good to hear, but there really is no need to thank me, it's my job to make sure our customers live long enough to buy more clothes." Shio said humbly.

Anko wasn't perturbed however, "ah yeah, yeah, I'm in a being nice kinda mood so you two are gonna have lunch with me alright."

Shio looked down towards me, "do you want to have lunch with Anko-san Isamu-chan?" Shio asked.

" _How is that even a question?"_ I asked myself, "Sure," I said, playing it cool.

Anko's smirk widened, "alright I'll lead the way, have you ever had dango chipmunk?"

* * *

It took us a few minutes to find the place Anko was leading us to, we soon came upon a green painted building, its doors wide open and I could see dozens of patrons sitting in booths and around tables from the large open windows.

Anko lead us inside, she pointed her thumb over her shoulder at Shio and I as she passed the hostess by the front, "these two are with me, usual table," Anko said casually. The hostess merely nodded at Anko and gave Shio and I a welcoming smile before her attention was occupied by a couple entering behind us.

We weaved through tables, waiters, and passing patrons until we came upon a booth, two other people where already sitting there, Kurenai and another person that made me take a small intake of breath. _"What the hell am I going to meet the whole damn supporting cast by the time I head back to Tanpo?"_ I asked myself.

Anko waved to her sitting comrades, "hey guys look I found a chipmunk outside!" Anko greeted with a laugh.

Kurenai smiled at Shio and I, "Shio-san, Isamu-san it's good to see you, Konoha is still treating you well I hope?" Kurenai greeted formally.

Shio returned the smile with a small bow, "Kurenai-san, it's good to see you as well, Konoha has been lovely so far."

"Yeah, yeah hello, whatever, it's time to teach the chipmunk about dango!" Anko interrupted as she quickly sat down and pushed the second person sitting in the booth aside with her hip.

Kurenai politely scooted closer to the wall on her own, the booth wasn't wide enough to allow me to sit on my own and it was also too tall for me to sit normally even if it was so once again I was relegated to sitting in Shio's lap.

"Aren't you going to introduce yourself?" Kurenai asked the person in front of me in an annoyed tone.

The person sighed before nodding towards us, "Kakashi Hatake," the teenager greeted, looking like he would rather be anywhere but here.

Anko chuckled as she jabbed the white haired Jounin in the ribs with her elbow, "ah don't mind him chipmunk he's just a workaholic, so much that the Hokage ordered him a day off, so Kurenai and I are making sure he actually gets out for once."

Shio bowed her head slightly at Kakashi in greeting, "hello Kakashi-san, I'm Shio and this is my son Isamu," she introduced.

I looked up at Shio with light annoyance, "hey I can introduce myself ya know," It really was one of my pet peeves when people said things for me, or put words in my mouth that I didn't say.

Shio rolled her eyes playfully, my attempted at asserting myself going up in flames as my baby voice delegitimized anything I had to say. "Fine then Isamu-chan, introduce yourself like a big boy."

I ignored the sarcasm and stood up on Shio's lap and place my hands on the table, leaning over I said, "hey I'm chipmunk, where did you get that cool mask?" Yeah that was all I got, can't really grab him and say everything bad that happened wasn't his fault and tell him that Obito was still out their ethnically cleansing The Land of Water like a Turk in Armenia now can I?

Kakashi blinked several times at my encroachment on his personal bubble, "Isamu-chan manners!" Shio scolded before pulling me back into her lap.

"I'm so sorry Kakashi-san, he's never this rude, honestly Isamu-chan why can't you be this open and lively with kids your age," Shio complained.

Meanwhile Anko was chuckling herself mad, "he…he's like the kid I'll never have!" Anko guffawed.

My deed was done, I got Anko nearly rolling on the floor laughing and I made the Kakashi Hatake visibly uncomfortable, Kaguya take my chakra cause I can now die a happy man. I looked up at Shio's exacerbated face without regret or shame.

Anko rubbed the tear from her eye as she got control of herself, "k…keep him Shio, that's a good kid right there," Anko said between chuckles.

Shio sighed as she ran her hand though my hair, "I don't know Anko-san, maybe you would like to keep him for a while," Shio suggested.

Anko regained herself for a moment as she put her elbow on the table and put her head in her palm, "hmm now that's a fun idea," Anko smirked jokingly.

A polite cough caught our attention, a waitress was standing near our table waiting for use to notice her. "Uhh, hello would you like to order?" She asked meekly.

We ordered our food, and by we I mean just Shio and Kakashi, apparently Kurenai and Anko come here often enough to not need to order and Anko insisted that I have some dango with her so she practically ordered for me.

In the interim of getting our food Kurenai decided to continue conversation, "so Shio-san I hear that your work in Konoha Is bearing fruit, I've heard a few woman talk about Niwano-san and her business in Tanpo almost every day now."

Shio nodded, "yes I've been working hard to spread the word, and it's a lot easier than I first imagined, apparently Niwano-san already had a fairly well known presence before the attack."

"O so that's what Gai had been raving about when I saw him run off, yeah they met Gai today by the way, one of the reasons why I asked them to come have lunch with us," Anko explained.

Kurenai giggled lightly, "yes I understand, Gai could be a bit…much," Kurenai said diplomatically.

Kakashi gave a slight snort at that.

I sat up when I realized something, "hey you didn't answer my question earlier," I spoke up to Kakashi.

Kakashi gave a lazy look towards me, "I suppose I didn't," he said with a shrug before looking out the window.

I dead panned at the non-answer.

"Wow very good with kids Kakashi," Kurenai said in sarcasm dripping with every word.

Kakashi shrugged again.

I frowned at Kakashi, I knew that body language, and I knew those eyes. He didn't want to be here, he'd rather be home suffering in silence, stuck in his own head, no I wouldn't let him be like that, it was his day off after all.

"Hey do you got dogs Kakashi, cause you smell like dogs?" I asked, best way to get an introvert to talk is to ask about their pets, works with me every time.

Kakashi eyed me curiously, his body language still guarded but his eyes were more open. "You must have a good nose on you if you can smell a Ninja kid," he remarked.

I shrugged, "ah didn't really smell ya just wanted to see if I was right in guessing that you're a dog person." Truthfully I couldn't smell the guy even from this distance, but I also knew I needed a cover for knowing he had dogs. Better let them think I'm some sort of prodigy manipulator rather than thinking I'm some sort of spy.

"You walked right into that one scarecrow," Anko remarked.

A light of some sort of emotion seemed to gleam in Kakashi's eye, "yeah I guess you could say I have dogs," he divulged.

I smiled at that, _"progress,"_ I thought with glee.

"Isamu-san what's your favorite type of dog?" Kurenai asked.

I paused, I honestly didn't know the breeds of dogs exist in this world, Victorian England didn't exist so many of the breeds I know wouldn't be around, but truth be told Isamu hasn't seen that many dogs in his life. There aren't really any in Tanpo to my knowledge, speaking of Tanpo why does it actually exist, it's not near any major river so it's not like we're important to the trade routes, I don't really think we grow anything either, hmm questions for later.

"He does this sometimes," I come back to reality at the sound of Shio's voice.

"Wha- o sorry Kurenai-san," I said a bit embarrassed at letting my mind wander about like that.

Kurenai had a patience smile on her face, "that's okay Isamu-san, I asked what your favorite type of dog was," damn Kurenai was born to be a teacher, I know some adults that would have gotten pissed off and smacked a kid for making them repeat themselves.

"O well, I like all dogs really, but I guess my favorite would be like real big dogs, so I can ride it like a horse!" I say with an innocent smile, it's probably best that I don't know the breeds of dogs, a three year old wouldn't know after all.

I then looked up at Shio, my question already being known by that look in her eyes, "we'll have to ask," Shio told me. I didn't know if that was ask Ietaka if we can get a dog or ask a dog itself if they want to live with us.

I turned my attention back to Kakashi, "so what dogs do you got, big fluffy dogs, little one that bite ya, I bet you have a little one, do ya, do ya?" At this point my feet where once again on Shio's lap and my hands where on the table leaning into Kakashi's space. I probably should pull it back with my kid acting, don't want to bring up people's expectations and make them think I'm some sort of extrovert, I was just having a good day today and I might still be high off of the youthful rays that Gai exposed me to.

Kakashi however was a tougher nut to crack then I suspected, he didn't shy away from a kid being in his bubble this time nor did he even look vaguely uncomfortable. Kakashi shrugged his shoulders, "I have all types but they don't live with me, they sort of pop in every now and again."

Anko spit out her water and started laughing while slapping her knee, "ha, ha, ha di…did you just make a joke!?" Anko asked between gasps.

Kakashi looked confused at Anko, not knowing that he just made one of the best dad jokes I've heard in a while.

Meanwhile Kurenai was giggling to the side while Shio just looked confused, I on the other hand was too distracted with wiping my face with one of the napkins provided for our table.

"O sorry bout that chipmunk," Anko said sheepishly.

Our food came as I finished wiping myself dry with Shio's help, Anko practically shoved a stick of dango in my face with a gleam in her eye.

I took the sweet kebab out of the snake woman's hands and slid one of the dumplings into my mouth with a bite. It was good, damn this was better than ramen, hell this was better than a lot of stuff I've eaten. Now it's nowhere near bacon territory but its defiantly up there on my favorite sweets list.

Anko had smug smile on her face, "see told ya it was the best," she said triumphantly before taking another bite of her dango.

Shio sighed behind me, "thank you for the meal Anko-san but now it might be impossible to get him to take his nap today."

Anko looked a bit guilty at that, "o sorry forgot that kids still need naps at this age."

Conversation kept on lightly throughout the meal, I ate the entire skewer of dango and Shio had finished her meal a few minutes before me. I didn't know if I would ever be able to have another conversation with these people ever again so I decided to just soak up the time here.

"Eh Kakashi, you go on any cool ninja missions?" I ask with big puppy dog eyes and all to hopefully gain a reaction out of the teen.

Kakashi had his head in his hands, his meal had been long gone and I didn't even see the guy move. The scarecrow shrugged, "sometimes, just follow orders mostly," was his vague response.

Anko made a light snort, "if you want to hear about cool missions kid then look no further than me, the best Kunoichi in Konoha!" She boasted, pointing her thumb to herself and puffing her chest out.

I tilted my head to the side in curiosity, "what cool missions do you go on Anko?" I asked.

Anko smirked, "glad you asked chipmunk, it was a day just like today, I was up north near the Firipusu Tabaco plantation. I the illustrious Anko Mitarashi was tasked with a job only I could do, the Hokage himself tasked me with this, saying I was the best of the best, a shoe in for Jounin, I was told that some dick he-"

Shio and Kurenai simultaneously cleared their throats loudly, getting Anko's attention.

"What?" Anko asked annoyed.

Shio and Kurenai indicated their heads towards me, Anko looked sheepish and rubbed the back of her head, "o right," she remembered with a chuckle.

"Anyway, some bad guy was being…uhh mean I guess is a good word for it," Anko took a swig of her glass of water before continuing. "Don't really remember his name, just that he was real lanky kinda guy, was almost as slippery as me, liked to use poisons like that Yamanaka girl did in the exams, you remember that right?" Anko asked me.

I nodded my head.

Anko continued seeing that she still had my full attention, "well this guy was doing something he wasn't supposed to do, was using his poisons on a well in a village, making people real sick."

Anko paused for a second in her story, allowing me to ask my question, "why'd he do that?" I asked.

Anko shrugged, "some people are just bad people I guess, I don't ask the bad guys why they do stuff I just stop em. Anyway I found the bad guy and fought him, he was real good with chains, I spit a fire ball at him the size of a horse, made him runaway for a bit, he jumps back in and blind sides me with another one of his chains. I thought they were just normal chains but nope they were made of chakra metal, he had me pinned against a tree, he was bout to stab me but then I remembered that your Kaasan put storage seals in my sleeves, just in time I pulled a sealed kunai out of my sleeve and cut his hand clean off!" Anko cackled at that, I jumped in surprise as a second later a kunai appeared from her hands and she stabbed the last remaining of her dango with it.

"So," Anko began again waving her stabbed dango around, "the guy tries to run again but I'm even more slippery than him, I get myself out of the chains when he's distracted and the great and glorious Anko Mitarashi saves the day after I beat him from there to Snow Country." Anko had put the handle of the kunai she had skewering her last dango in her mouth and her hands on her hips with her back strait, a light breeze picked up enough for her ponytail to wave in the wind.

"Are you really using chakra for one of your stupid poses again?" Kakashi asked in exasperation.

Anko glared at Kakashi and a second later she moved her head down at Kakashi and stabbed him with her kunai still in her mouth, but her dango was still at the tip so the most it did was make his shoulder sticky.

Kakashi's eyes narrowed ever so slightly but didn't make to retaliate.

Anko feeling vindicated looked at my reaction to her tale, It was obviously highly edited any classified stuff was either not mentioned or filtered. But Anko saving herself was a feat, "you didn't have help?" I asked, from what I know of Konoha she should have had at least three other people with her.

Anko shook her head, "nope, just me, took out an enemy nin solo by myself, all in a day's work really." She smirked her smug smile at me.

"That's so cool, where you scared at all?" I asked.

Anko waved her arm dismissively, "pssh, I'm never scared of anything, besides Shio was looking out for me, even if she didn't know it." Anko pulled at her trench coat and gave a grateful smile to Shio.

Shio smile in return. "I'm glad my work saved your life Anko-san, that's why I do what I do."

Kurenai lifted her glass of water, "well then to Shio-san's skills then."

Kakashi lifted his glass without a word.

"To Kaasan," my tiny voice spoke up, lifting my glass with both of my chubby three year old hands.

"To badass trench coats!" Anko yelled.

"Language!" Shio and Kurenai admonished in unison.

The sound of Anko's laughter filled our entire side of the restaurant.

* * *

July had come and gone before I knew it, August was upon us now and I was once again at another park. This time however a conspiracy was obviously afoot as the same day Yoshino, Chiharu and Noriko all just happened to show up with their own kids.

The backs of what would become the new Ino-Shika-Cho trio were to me playing in a sandpit, Shio was already in conversation with her fellow mothers. I took a few steps closer, the second I did Ino had stood up and walked around the sandpit to inspect her work, she looked up from her work for a brief second.

Teal blue met my chocolate brown, a second passed, "Isa-kun!" Ino shouted.

I made the mistake of blinking because in that brief moment I allowed myself to be blindsided by a clingy Chihuahua, Ino's glomp had enough force to send me to the ground. "Isa-kun, Isa-kun play sand with us Isa-kun!" Ino shouted excitedly.

I looked down to see Ino's chin resting on my chest, her big eyes pleaded with me to play with her, _"damnit, that isn't playing fair at all,"_ I lamented.

"Okay then Ino-chan," I said with a sigh.

"Yay!" She exclaimed before pulling me up and dragging me to the sandpit.

I was unceremoniously pushed into the pit before Ino shoved a little plastic shovel into my hands, "Isa-kun help dig!"

I sighed again, resigning myself to dig into the sand with the rest of these kids, I hated sand in all honestly, its course, rough, and it gets everywhere. "Why are we digging?" I asked.

"Cause treasure," Choji explained as if it was obvious.

I nodded, made total since if you were a kid, hell I did it too when I was their age. I wonder if they're parents were like mine, hiding small toys deep in the sand, It was pretty smart, helped show kids the value of hard work at a young age. I looked over to my left to see Ino wasn't helping with the hole but actually making some sort of hill with the sand that was already dug up, "what are you doing Ino-chan?" I asked.

Ino patted the sand hill around while looking up at me, "make'n sand cattle!" she exclaimed happily.

"I think you mean sand castle Ino-chan," I corrected.

Ino nodded, "yeah that, how you so smart Isa-kun?" She asked.

I shrugged "I read a lot," I admitted as I pulled a big scoop of sand out of the growing hole and placed it atop Ino's sand hill, burying her tiny hands with the new sand.

"Ah my hands gone!" Ino yelled.

Shikamaru looked up from digging the hole, his eyes bugged out when he saw Ino's hands apparently gone from this world. "Ino's hands gone!" Shikamaru exclaimed in shock.

Choji gasped in horror, "bring her hands back Isa!" Choji demanded.

I raised my hands in a placating gesture, "hey, hey her hands aren't gone calm down," I tried to say calmly.

"Well why can't I see them?" Choji asked with a poke to my chest, his baby faced glare doing nothing to intimidate me.

"Yeah bring Ino's hand back!" Shikamaru threatened with his little red plastic shovel.

"I didn't do anything alright, Ino-chan move your hands," I instructed.

Ino shook her head, "I can't," her eyes were beginning to water and she started to sniffle.

I sighed, _"good God are all kids so melodramatic?"_ I ask myself.

The situation was about to get way out of hand, both Choji and Shikamaru looked so angry they were about to cry and Ino looked on the verge of panicking. "Fine, " I say with a roll of my eyes before plunging my hands into the sand hill to find Ino's hands.

All three of the kids gasped at what I did, "he made his hands gone too," Choji whispered.

Shikamaru was stunned into silence.

Ino looked up at me with her watery eyes, "why'd you make your hands gone too?" She asked.

I bit back my natural reaction of sarcasm, "I got you okay," I say to her, trying to keep the little girl calm before she makes the whole damn park think I cut her hands off.

I pushed through the sand but it was a bit tougher than expected with how densely packed it was, maybe she really couldn't move her hands around, she is only like two or three years old after all.

I found Ino's small hands in the middle of the hill and grasped them, Ino gasped in surprise, "I can feel something!" Ino shouted.

Choji and Shikamaru scrambled to my side and looked over the small mound. "Do you think he can do it?" Choji asked Shikamaru.

Shikamaru just kept watching silently.

I pulled up with Ino's hands in mine and the sand crumbled away as I forced our hands up, Ino looked at me in awe at seeing her hands free, "you saved me Isa-kun!" Ino shouted.

"He did it!" Choji exclaimed.

"I don't believe it," Shikamaru whispered.

I chuckled, _"kids are so easy to impress,"_ I muse.

"Children its lunch time, how about we go get something to eat?" Chiharu shouted her suggestion from across the park.

Choji's attention was immediately drawn away, "yay lunch!" He shouted as he scrambled out of the sand pit and rushing over to his mother.

Shikamaru followed more slowly but still exited at the prospect of food.

I stood up and made to walk away but Ino still had my hands, "Ino-chan I need my hands to eat," I told her.

Ino nodded with a small smile and stood up still gripping my hands, "come on Isa-kun lets go eat," Ino urged, unclasping one of her hands and pulling me with the other.

I sighed allowing myself to be pulled away, I looked back at the sand mound that caused so much trouble, _"wait a second,"_ I thought. I narrowed my eyes, in the middle of the sand mound were two tiny hand prints that looked to have burrowed further into the sand hill, _"her hands weren't stuck at all."_

I looked back to see Ino looking forward with a little smirk on her face _._

* * *

I found myself back at the Yamanaka household,. Shikamaru, Choji, and Ino all looked tired, the three of them swayed in their cushioned pillow seats ever so slightly.

"Let's lay you down for a little nap," Noriko said has she picked up Ino and Choji.

I felt myself be picked up too by Shio and Shikamaru was given the same treatment by Yoshino, I was placed on the long couch in the living room, Noriko placed Choji on my right and Ino on my left while Yoshino put Shikamaru next to Choji. A large blanket was placed on top of us and a long body pillow was placed under out heads.

Noriko brushed Ino's hair, "do you want Kaasan to read to you before your nap?" she asked.

Ino looked up at me, "Isa-kun should read," she said.

Noriko raised an amused eyebrow, "O, how do you know if Isa-kun can read?" she asked her daughter.

Ino snuggled into the blankets, "cause he said."

Noriko smiled and looked at me, "I can read Noriko-san," I offered, not like I had a choice, my bleeding heat wouldn't let me deny baby Ino.

Noriko nodded and pulled a small yellow book from a nearby bookstand, she gave me the book and I opened it.

The book had big bold printed words and pictures, "okay, uhh, the littlest seedling by Masashi Senju," I started.

Ino snuggled up next to me her head resting on my left shoulder, Choji on my right was laid back sucking on his thumb while Shikamaru was out like a light snoring and all.

I read on the very basic children's book about a sentient seedling wanting to find its new home and with the power of friendship would be able to grow its roots big and strong to become a great tree. I was near half way through the book at the part where the seedling was asking a bird to be its friend when I saw a flash and heard a mechanical click, I looked up to see Inoichi chuckling to himself as he shook a polaroid in his hand, "O don't mind me, keep reading," Inoichi said with a nostalgic smile.

A few minutes passed and I was finally done with the book, I closed it gently and looked down at Ino sleeping soundly on my shoulder. Choji and Shikamaru had moved in their sleep and now Shikamaru was using Choji's portly belly as a pillow while Choji was drooling on the far end of large pillow.

I sighed, feeling my own toddler body demanding a nap, I laid back on the large couch and into the fluffy pillow. Ino sighed contently into my shoulder, her chubby little hand gripping my shirt, I couldn't help but feel a pang in my heart as I looked down at the little head of blond hair. "C _ould have been a father,"_ a voice whispered in the back of my mind, I bit my cheek and swallowed a lump in my throat. The void in my heart seemed all the more heavy at this moment, I saw a flash of red hair, green eyes, and the sound of a guitar played in my mind's eye. _"She isn't ours Amber but it feels like she could've had things been different,"_ I mused.

* * *

Today was the day, Shio and I were finally going back home, I met a lot of interesting people here, I arrived a contented man willing to just let the course of history take its place, I left confused, angry, but cautiously hopeful for the future.

I was looking out from the widow of my temporary room, allowing myself to soak up the view of Konoha at this elevated height, I could see hundreds of people milling about and the occasional back blur of a Ninja running across the rooftops. It was partly cloudy in the sky now, birds that sounded like singing to others, but to my ears, were arguing over who gets to eat the last bit of bread left over by one of the villagers.

"Okay everything's packed now sweetie are you ready?" Shio asked from the doorway.

"Yes Kaasan" I began before I looked down at my hands and watched as my finger nails grew to nearly an inch in length before I pushed my chakra back down and imagined them become smaller, a few seconds of concentration later and I saw them retract to their normal length, "I'm ready."

* * *

 **So it's bye, bye to Konoha for a while or maybe forever who knows. I don't really know why the theme of this chapter really became meeting new people and afternoon lunches but it kinda just happened.**

 **There will be a small time skip next chapter because I want to start getting the ball rolling, the introduction arc of this story is going to most likely be the longest. I don't plan for the introduction to end anytime soon, maybe another eight chapters or so but who knows, hell I don't really know what the hell I'm about to write half the time until my fingers start to move.**

 **I would like to reiterate that this isn't an action pact adventure with power ups, this is a character story that involves people and their relationships with each other, action is just a device used to up the drama factor rather than be the main medium of storytelling, at least for this story.**

 **I very much enjoyed writing for Ino, I think some of the best child writing can be found in the show Rugrats and I tried to channel a bit of that in Ino, hopefully she didn't come across as grating or overly annoying but still keep to her child nature. Despite that I still find it difficult to write children if you haven't interacted with one for an extended period of time in many years, it's easy to accidently make them sound smarter than they really are by giving them big words to use or making them react to situations like a normal human being would. But you just need to realize that children are whiney, loud, overly dramatic poop monsters and you need to kinda ask yourself what the very first basic reaction you would have to a situation and just go from there.**

 **I hope this chapter finds you all well and thank you to all of the reviews favorites and follows.**


	10. Ietaka

Ietaka

* * *

Ietaka sighed to himself as he closed up his smithy for the day, he pulled his thick wool coat close as the cold winter night nipped at his skin. The moon was full, reflecting its pale light off the snow below giving the whole village an almost ethereal glow. Ietaka began to walk towards his home in the peaceful night, only the sound of snow crunching beneath his feet and whispering of the winter air blowing through the trees could be heard. It was a night much like tonight that he had made a decision that had changed his life forever, a choice that his younger self would have scoffed at and thought would be a grave mistake. But Ietaka was wiser than the man he used to be, he would never regret his choice, often he told himself that it was probably one of the only good choices he's ever made in his life.

On that thought Ietaka found himself reflecting on his family, Ietaka could honestly say that if a perfect happy ending ever exists than his current lot in life was it. Knowing he will go home to a loving wife and son was a peace that he hadn't known he had wanted until he had it, it made him nostalgic having stability in his life like this. Not since he was a young boy had he known relative peace and quite like he's had in the last four years. Ietaka knew his family wasn't perfect, it was subtle but he knew that things had changed slightly since his family's visit to Konoha a year and a half ago.

He blamed the Chunin exams more than anything, ever since that day Isamu's disposition seemed to become ever more slightly different. Where's before his son would do his exercises more of a way to pass the time rather than any other set reason, now their seemed to be a drive in his actions. He recognized that drive, he had it within himself at a young age, that drive to feel the blanket of protection that power gave you, that need to not be week like a wondering sheep, to become the predator and not the prey. Ietaka shook his head at such thoughts, maybe he sees himself in his son a little too much, his situation and Isamu's were different. Yes he wasn't worried, he was in fact proud of his son for his accomplishments that he was earning though the sweat of his brow at such a young age, things that weren't expected of children since the warring clan era, his son was just a rare gem that will make his and Shio's goal of making him ready for the real world all the more easier.

His home came into view a few moments later, as soon as he opened his front door the warmth of his house flooded outside closing in around him like a blanket to protect him from the cold night air. "I'm home," Ietaka called out, in that same moment the foot falls of bare feet could be heard from the kitchen.

"Welcome home Ietaka-kun," Shio's voice greeted from the kitchen.

Ietaka sighed in contentment after he pulled his coat off and placed his boots near the front door, he walked into the kitchen to find his wife sitting at the table, her form lit by a pair of candles. Her eyes seemed to sparkle in the fire light, the warm orange glow showing her smiling face with red lipstick on. "Happy anniversary love," Shio said in a sultry tone.

Ietaka couldn't help but to smile as he sat down in the chair nearest to Shio, he took her smaller hands in his before kissing her. "Happy anniversary Mikasa-chan," Ietaka whispered a hairs inch away from her lips.

Ietaka could feel his wife smile, "it's been so long since you called me that Danuja-kun," She whispered back.

The name brought back many memories, memories of a younger man with a completely different body, a young man raised by his clan that sought out adventure and glory. But that was all behind him now, Danuja died along with his foolishness and days of skirt chasing.

"I got you something," Ietaka said as he pulled a scroll out of his pocket.

Shio smiled before getting up from the table, "hold on let me get the wine," she said.

Ietaka unsealed the item in his scroll before he placed his gift down on the table with a smile while ogling his wife's assets as she stood on the tip of her toes trying to get the bottle of wine they kept in the back of one of the overhead cabinets.

As soon as she turned around Shio gasped at the gift on the table, "my mother's circlet," Shio whispered. On the table was a circlet made of silver with a green gem placed as the centerpiece, at its sides, made to look as if they were growing out of the silver itself, was a small pair of deer antlers. "The temple was destroyed, where did you get this?" Shio asked.

Ietaka grabbed the circlet in his hands and placed it onto Shio's head, her stunned face was priceless as she slowly brought her hand up to caress the antlers in disbelief. "All that was left where the antlers remember, the metal and the gem are new but the antlers are still original."

Shio blinked her eyes several times, "you're gonna make my makeup run," she said with a laugh.

Ietaka chuckled before enveloping Shio in a tight hug.

Shio kissed Ietaka again, "now you made me look bad giving me this, my gift isn't anything like this," Shio pulled back with a pout.

Ietaka smiled as he pulled away, grabbing the wine from Shio's grip and uncorking it, "from the smell of it, this wine is good enough, is that grape?" He asked.

Shio nodded, "yeah a trader passed through a few weeks ago, said he got it from Bear Country." She answered.

Ietaka poured the wine into the glasses on the table and took a swig, "wow that's strong." He said though gritted teeth.

Shio took a sip of her own glass and coughed, "what is that like eighty percent?" She wondered.

The couple then sat back down at the kitchen table where Shio had freshly baked bread on rice. They ate in peace for a few minutes until Shio broke the silence, "you'll never guess what Isamu-chan did today."

He swallowed a mouthful of rice before asking, "o and what did he do today?"

Shio smiled proudly, "he mastered the leaf sticking exercise, I had him practice his calligraphy while sticking three leafs to the bottom of his feet."

"Did he rotate them as well?" He asked

"Mmhmm, he was practicing it almost all day, tuckered him out too so I had to put him to bed an hour ago." She Answered.

The blacksmith finished his plate and leaned forward with a proud smile on his lips, "looks like it's finally time I start teaching him."

His wife placed her hand on his forearm gently, "don't push him too hard yet love he's still four after all even if it's hard to tell sometimes."

He chuckled lightly at Shio's concern, "I'll just start him on the basics dear, besides him doing chores for us and other's around the village will be enough physical conditioning for now."

Ietaka then took his glass and the bottle before he walked into the living room, "come on let's not sit here in these wood chairs all night," he said leading them to the cushioned couch.

Ietaka sat himself on the couch and saw Shio pulling a wrapped gift seemingly out of nowhere, "here, it's not an heirloom but I made it so be happy," Shio said pushing the gift in Ietaka's face.

Ietaka opened the gift with eager hands, a moment later ha pulled out a soft black silk kimono, "its wonderful Shio-chan," he completed, it really was, it always amazed him how Shio could work with material like this, whenever he tried his hand at sewing he always tore everything, he'd rather work with something solid like metal or wood.

"It's got a temperature regulator seal and a water proofing seal, I know it not much bu-" Shio was cut off by Ietaka's lips.

"It's perfect," he assured as he pulled away from the kiss.

Shio smiled and took another sip of her wine before leaning back into the couch, Ietaka sat back as well pulling her into his arms. The two sat on the couch in comfortable silence for a while, occasionally sipping on their wine, the ticking of the clock from the kitchen and the soft sound of the wind hitting the windows was made to sound much louder in the dark of the night.

"Do you ever just feel…tired Ietaka-kun?" Shio asked breaking the silence.

Ietaka raised an eyebrow in askance, "what do you mean?"

Shio sighed as she leaned back deeper into Ietaka's chest, "it's just that…we've been around for so long, do you ever wonder when you'll just get tired of it all?"

"Is this the wine talking?" he asked.

Shio shrugged in response.

"Honestly sometimes I do, but I just remember you and Isamu, it's my first time to ever settle down for this long since I was a kid, even after all these years being a father and a husband is still new to me." Ietaka answered.

Shio put her hands into Ietaka's, "do you ever think we've been here too long though, is it natural for people to live as long as us?"

"We're not _that_ old Shio-chan," he said with mock indignation.

"You know what I mean, after Isamu becomes a man do you think it would be right to keep him tied down to us should we just allow ourselves to fade?" She asked in a whisper.

He hugged his wife closer to his chest, "don't ever think about that Shio-chan, we'll always be there for Isamu, besides don't you want grandchildren to spoil one day?"

Shio looked down in guilt, "your right, I shouldn't be thinking about this, must be the wine."

After a few minutes of silence Ietaka finally felt comfortable enough to make his suggestion.

"Do you want to…you know," Ietaka suggested with a wiggle of his eyebrow.

Shio shook her head, "you know I get sick if I do it drunk, remember the last time."

Ietaka nodded his head, it was a night both discovered that vomit was a very big turn off.

Shio stood up her wine now gone from her glass, "lest ge- wow," She stumbled in place.

he stood with her and placed his hands on her shoulders to stabilize her, "come on bed time," Ietaka chuckled before leading her to their bedroom. His wife stumbled a few times, apologizing to nobody in particular as she did. Half way to their bedroom she started to sing, well more like slur her words in different tones.

"Through the grass and, tresh, we feinddsh, ow toes hut!" Shio exclaimed as she stubbed her toe in her bedroom doorframe.

Ietaka eventually just decided to carry his wife to their bed and placed her down gently.

Shio giggled to herself as he helped her out of her dress and put her circlet on the night stand that was on her side of the bed. "I want teddy tonight," Shio requested with a childish pout.

"No Shio-chan I want to sleep normal," he denied as he struggled to get his drunk wife in her night clothes.

"Want teddy," Shio protested using puppy dog eyes to their fullest potential.

He groaned as he looked away from his wife, drunk Shio was a very needy Shio and if he doesn't give her what she wants then she could make his whole night hell. "Fine," he said with a defeated sigh.

Ietaka focused his chakra and mind on the vision in his head, with a concentration of will he forced his body to transform, the pain of the greater transformation had dulled over time especially when this became one of his more common forms he took thanks to his wife.

In seconds the tall and bulky blacksmith known as Ietaka shrunk and morphed into that of a brown bear cub.

"Teddy!" Shio squealed like a teenaged girl and picked up Ietaka in his new form and began hugging the life out of him.

" _The things I do for love,"_ Ietaka lamented.

Shio pulled them both under the thick blankets of their bed still holding him like a stuffed animal, "good night Ietaka teddy," Shio whispered kissing his furred head goodnight.

"Good night Shio-chan," Ietaka grunted in his small cub voice.

* * *

The next morning brought fresh snow on the ground, the village at large was slower to wake in the dead of winter but for Ietaka this was the perfect time to teach his son.

Isamu stood a few feet away from him not feeling the effects of the cold no doubt thanks to Shio's fuinjutsu skills as he knew his wife usually went all out in the best protections she could provide when it came to their son's clothing. The grey colored gi and matching pants was a suggestion he made for this very occasion, Ietaka had been waiting for this day ever since Shio had announced she was pregnant. He had often day dreamed about passing on his knowledge and boding with his son, and now his dream is finally being realized.

Ietaka pulled a bokken out from his belt and held it in his hands, presenting the practice sword to his son, "do you know what this is Isamu?" He asked.

Isamu nodded his head, "it's a practice sword Otosan," he answered.

"Correct, today I will begin to teach you to become a practitioner of Kenjutsu, I will not dare say to master for it is an ever changing and evolving fighting style and no one man can ever truly master it." Ietaka imparted.

At his son's nod of understanding he continued, "the first thing you need to know about Kenjutsu is the weapon that you will be dedicating most of your time learning, the katana is the most popular, so many forms and styles are created around it, I too have learned to practice this and will be teaching you how to use it best. Remember that this is not a toy, your sword is a tool for defense nothing more, nothing less. If you learn anything from me son it's that you should never raise your sword against an innocent and never draw it for fun. I'm not going to stand here and give you the tripe that the Samurai spew out about the sword being an extension of your soul because it isn't. You aren't any better a person because you know how to swing metal in a fancy way, your sword is to protect yourself, your family, and your friends." Ietaka instructed.

Isamu nodded once again with a more serious expression, "I understand Otosan," his son assured.

"Good because from here on today Isamu you will be my apprentice in Kenjutsu and you will be helping me with my work at the smith, the easy part of your training is now over." Ietaka declared.

"I'm ready for anything," Isamu challenged back with determination shining in his son's eyes.

A nostalgic smile spread across Ietaka's face, "I'm sure you are son," he handed the bokken to Isamu watching in amusement as the boy took the polished wood into his hands as if he was given a gift from the Daimyo himself.

"Alright," he began getting Isamu's attention, "today we will start with the fundamentals, the two most important things you need to know about proper sword play is both how to grip your sword and how to stand properly with your sword."

Ietaka then drew his own katana from his side and griped the handle, pointing the tip at a slight angle towards the tree top of the cherry blossom tree a few meters away, as he did so he spread his legs out slightly keeping his toes pointed forward and his back strait. "This is a standard ready position, it is the very first move in the kata I will be teaching you, here you can see how I have the sword in the center of my body, in this position the sword is able to react quickly to many different angles, now can you tell me what is wrong with this form?"

Isamu tilted his head at the stance as he inspected him, "it exposes you too much," his son answered.

Ietaka nodded, "that it does, but katas are not meant to be used in battle, they are merely a tool for practicing your footing and grip, making you used to holding your sword while moving is the main purpose of any kata. But remember a master of a thousand Katas is nothing more than a dance instructor and not a swordsmen, real skill only comes with experience, experience I hope you will never need."

Ietaka saw Isamu nod his head diligently before he moved to mimic his Otosan without instruction.

"Loosen your grip, if you keep that up you'll get cramps before the hour's over, spread your legs apart more and keep your back strait," Ietaka instructed.

Seeing his son make the corrections put a proud smile to his face, "very good now let's start the first step."

* * *

It had been a week since he first started showing his son the basics of Kenjutsu, and he could defiantly say that he was proud of his son. He didn't get things perfectly on the first try but he understood his directions better than most kids his age and could correct himself easily without being prompted. But better yet he was a dedicated student, he would work on a form for hours trying to get it right, often did he have to step in to make Isamu take a quick rest. He planned on showing his son the snow walking exercise later today, a more advanced charka control exercise that he could pair easily with his Kenjutsu training.

Ietaka was currently working on the creation of a dozen knew spears as ordered by the marshal, a man who held the power to raise armies in the name of the Daimyo when need arose.

"Otosan is this what you were looking for?" He heard his son ask.

Isamu was struggling to hold half a dozen long spear shafts that where more than twice his heights. "Yes thank you, just put them down near me," he instructed.

Clang, Clang, Clang! The sound of the spear shafts falling to the floor resounded loudly in the relatively cramped space.

"Oops."

Ietaka took a deep breath and closed his eyes, _"Kami give me patience,"_ he prayed silently.

"Just go out back and watch the flame, I still need to measure these," He ordered.

"Yes sir," Isamu said quickly before running out the back door.

Ietaka set a spear shaft on his work table, with sand paper in hand he began to smooth out some of the rougher edges of the shaft in peaceful silence. He was at it for a few minutes until he heard the sound of his front door being opened.

"Renjiro if you're coming back with another broken hunting knife I swear I'll shove this spear up your ass." Ietaka grunted in annoyance, not looking up from his work.

A deep chuckle greeted Ietaka's ears, the sound was like rocks pushing against each other. "Really blacksmithing, a man of your talents?" The voice asked in condescension.

Ietaka had stopped his work, his eyes alert at the familiarity of the voice, he slowly lifted his head to find a tall man standing in his doorway. The newcomer's dull green eyes were trained on his own deep brown, the newcomer's hair was long and black, a worn brown traveling cloak covering his body, and a black face mask was over his mouth.

Ietaka stood up strait his body tense at the sight of this man, "What are you doing here Kakuzu?" The blacksmith stood with his arms crossed and body tense, while the intruder loomed over like a statue.

"Why so tense Kaizen, it's almost as if you expect me to attack you." Kakuzu drawled in amusement.

"Should I be worried about that?" Ietaka asked gruffly.

Kakuzu shrugged, "unless you deiced to transform into one of your faces that has a bounty on it I see no reason to," he replied honestly.

"So what, I would ask if you were here to buy a weapon but you wouldn't bother approaching me for something so trivial." The blacksmith relaxed his muscles slightly, shifting back his stance.

"You're right, I wouldn't bother you if it wasn't important," The missing nin confirmed, dull green eyes looking over the smithy lazily.

"Out with it then, I don't need you to be seen, too many shinobi pass buy as is, don't need a whole ANBU squad here for weeks investigating rumors of an S-ranked threat in my village," Ietaka replied impatiently, renewing his work at smoothing the spear shaft.

"There's a job that's become increasingly more difficult to track, I sensed your chakra in the area and thought you might be interested."

Ietaka continued to smooth the wood as he replied, "well I'm not, as you can see I have a life now, can't go leave everything at a drop of a hat for a job like I used to."

"Not even for old time's sake, we could act like were young again, partners in crime?" The missing nin prodded.

"Why are you even asking me, isn't their more money in it for you if you do this solo?" Ietaka looked up at the taller man in askance but his growing annoyance was palpable.

"Like I said this job is hard to track and you're the best tracker I know who isn't a complete moron or will try and kill me on sight."

The sound of the back door opening and closing suddenly gripped Ietaka with dread, "Otosan I think the furnace is hot enough," the voice of his child called.

Kakuzu's eyes whipped towards the sound, amusement hidden behind his facemask.

Ietaka closed his eyes in anger at himself, it was already too late, Kakuzu knew he had a family, a myriad of different possibilities ran in his mind. The missing nin could leverage them against him and take what he wanted, he could decide to take Isamu and sell him to the highest bidder. Their wasn't all that much he could do against a man like Kakuzu, but he'll be damned if he wasn't going to take a few of the missing nin's hearts with him if it comes to it.

"Hey Otosan did you…" Isamu's voice trailed off as he entered the room and saw the large man standing before his father.

Ietaka could see a flash of recognition and suddenly a great deal of panic in his son's face and body language, which he found odd as his sons shouldn't even know who Kakuzu was.

"Uhh, Otosan…who's this?" Isamu asked unsurely.

Before Ietaka could open his mouth Kakuzu had already interrupted.

"You seem to already recognize me brat, why don't you tell me?"

Isamu seemed to shrink in on himself under the gaze of the missing nin, Ietaka had stepped between the potential threat and his son without a second thought.

"Your business is with me Kakuzu," Ietaka reminded.

Kakuzu chuckled, "if I believed in a higher power than I would almost say that this was some form of cosmic irony, a man like you settling down and having your own family." The missing nin shook his head in derision.

"Yes I do and they are none of your concern," Ietaka stressed.

Kakuzu shrugged, "I could care less about your personal life Kaizen, I'm here cause I need help on a job, this is a big score and I can't let this opportunity go to waste, besides, with this new development I think what this job does in his spare time might affect you directly if he's left to wonder around the region."

Ietakasighed heavily and looked back at his son, "Isamu go to your mother," Ietaka told his son, Isamu was still looking up at the S-ranked ninja in disbelief and near abject horror, "now!" Ietaka ordered sternly breaking Isamu out of his near panicked state.

"R...right," Isamu stuttered before he ran out the back door as fast as his little feet could carry him.

"What are you talking about Kakuzu?" He'd be lying if he didn't feel the old temptation at hunting difficult prey but that was more of a dull sensation compared to the spike of anxiousness at Kakuzu's mention this missing nin being nearby could affect him directly.

"Well my target is Nobunori Ishii, or 'The Earth Breather,' as he was known in the war, you know him?"

Ietaka thought back to the names and faces he had studied in the bingo book he had, it was nearly unheard of for simple folk to get their hands on one but being so close to Konoha, one of the only literal people for miles around, and a guard captain had some advantages. "Yeah, he was one of Iwa's best saboteurs, able to swim though the earth almost indefinitely, making him near impossible to track, went rouge a few years back but I don't see how he could affect me." Ietaka grunted out his memory of the man in question, his back now against the wall of his smithy, his work forgotten on the table.

"You'd be right that he's near impossible to track, I've been on his trail for months now and haven't gotten close, but he makes mistake and leaves a pattern of behavior in his wake, some disturbing behavior." Kakuzu informed ominously.

Ietaka rolled his eyes, "out with it already."

"Well you see, my target Nobunori likes boys," at Ietaka's look of 'so what,' Kakuzu decided to elaborate, "little boys."

Realization dawned on the blacksmith's face, "and you said he's in the region?" Isamu asked carefully, mind already going to the worst possibilities.

Kakuzu nodded, "I've tracked him to this general region, I think he's caught on that heats coming his way so he made to lay low in the forest for a while. Problem is that this forest is too big and the man can travel underground as easily as above it so now I'm at a loss. This guy's a big score for what he did in the war and what he's done with a few noble heirs in his travels, bounty is twenty million ryo alive, I'm willing to go seventy thirty my way for this."

Isamu grunted as he pushed himself off the wall, "if it's to make sure this sick fuck gets what's coming to him I have no problem with it, alright fifty, fifty" He offered his hand.

"Good on you, sixty five thirty five," He put his hand out but not quite close enough to shake it.

"Agreed, forty five fifty five," Ietaka edged his hand closer.

"Fine sixty forty," Kakuzu relented.

Ietaka smirked, as he took the hand and shook it, "deal," a nostalgic chuckle escaped both of their lips.

* * *

The captain of the guard was nervous as he slowly opened the door to his home, once again he let his impulsiveness decide for him and he was now stuck between a rock and a hard place. He already made the deal with Kakuzu and the rouge shinobi was not one to take cold feet well, backing out now would probably get him killed and leave his family more vulnerable than ever. But on the other hand he just made a big decision without the knowledge of his partner, a decision that could directly affect their lives if things don't go well.

One of Ietaka's greatest fears were realized as he stepped inside of his house to find an very angry Shio waiting for him, arms crossed and foot tapping on the floor impatiently. Her chocolate brown eyes narrowed at the sight of her husband. "You wouldn't believe the day I had today dear." The sarcasm dripping from each word was as thick as molasses.

Ietaka gulped at her tone, "Shio-chan let me explain," he held up his hands placating.

Shio took a step forward, bear feet thudding loudly against the wood flooring, "o please do, please explain to me why our son came running into the shop today in hysterics, talking about some man going into your smithy, he caused quite the scene."

The blacksmith took a deep breath, "I was…visited by an old colleague of mine, Isamu was their so I sent him to you."

Shio did not budge in her stance or expression, "and how did someone from you past recognize you?"

Ietaka took a step forward, "hey this isn't my fault, Kakuzu found me, he knows my chakra signature almost as well as you do."

Shio stiffened at the name, "Kakuzu, as in the Monster of Taki, that Kakuzu?"

He nodded, "yes he-"

"What did he want with you," Shio interrupted quickly.

"I was getting to that," Ietaka barely kept the annoyance out of his voice. "He came to me for a job."

Shio huffed at that, "and you told him no right?"

Ietaka hesitated.

"You told him no," Shio pressed sternly.

"Shio-chan…I," Ietaka tried to explain.

Shio wasn't hearing it, she threw her hands up in the air and turned her back to him, "unbelievable, thirty years away from that man and the second he comes by you're willing to drop everything."

"It isn't like that," he took a step forward and tried to place his hand on her shoulder.

Shio stepped further away, "well what is it like Ietaka, cause I sure don't know, all I know is that my baby boy come running to me inconsolable convinced that you're about to die and talking in gibberish, for Kami's sake he passed out in my arms, do you know what that's like to have our son just collapse like that?!" She cried turning back to her husband with angry tears down her face.

"Shio-chan, please listen to me, I didn't mean for any of this to happen today, it's just supposed to be us always just us, I don't want our lives to become complicated like they used to." He stepped forward.

"You say that and yet you agreed to take a job with a dangerous criminal, what could possibly compel you to go back to that life, go back to all the shit we fought and bleed to get ourselves out of. How many people died to get us here today, how many lives were ruined just so we could have our own, what's your fucking excuse?!" Shio yelled jabbing her finger into Ietaka's sternum.

"Nobunori Ishii, that's the man Kakuzu is after, he's incredibly hard to track but according to Kakuzu Ishii leaves a trail, he…" Ietaka gulped hoping that his next words won't send his wife into a frenzy to kill the man herself. "He likes little boys, and according to Kakuzu he's hiding out in these forests. "

Shio frowned at that, "and how do you know that Kakuzu wasn't just saying that to get you to come with him the moment he saw we had a son?" She questioned.

Ietaka paused.

Seeing his hesitation Shio pressed her advantage, "how do you know he isn't luring you into a trap? How do you know our enemies haven't found us and decided to hire the only man alive who could track you down, how do you know you'll ever come back?"

He ran a hand though his hair, "you're right I can't know everything for certain, but Kakuzu, its strange to say it aloud but I can trust Kakuzu. There have been times where one of my faces has had millions upon millions of ryo in bounty, at the time he had the means, opportunity, and motive but he didn't act on it."

Shio didn't look all that placated, "people change Ietaka, we of all people should know that."

Ietaka shook his head, "Kakuzu doesn't, the man is as stubborn as a rock, he can adapt yes but change his core beliefs, his ideas of never betray a competent partner if he can still make use of them. The bounty is real, the fact that Ishii is a pedophile is up to debate. Are you really willing to risk Isamu's safety on a what if?"

Shio stood in silence for a while, deliberating over his words before she relaxed her stance, "I still don't like this but… I know where your heart is in this but you _will_ go see Isamu and tell your son why you're leaving, you look him in the eye and tell him you might not come back and prepare him for that because I won't." Shio walked away and into her bedroom, closing it behind her without a word.

The blacksmith sighed, he knew he had a lot of explaining to do with his son, he was bright and would know if he wasn't being told the full truth. The least he could give the boy was information so he wouldn't fret so much, _"takes after his Kaasan too much,"_ he thought dryly.

His heavy foot falls echoed in the house as he approached his son's door, "Isamu are you awake?" He asked as he opened the door to the dark room, curtains drawn to make the room seem that it was night when it was only the midafternoon.

"Mmhmm," came the small hum from Isamu's bed.

He could see that his son was sitting up, eyes looking worried and constantly darting around in the darkness for unseen enemies. "Son I want to explain what happened today," he said entering the room and sitting down gently on the foot of Isamu's bed causing it to creak loudly.

"You mean explain why there was a S-ranked criminal in your smithy today?" Isamu's tone sounded almost accusatory.

"Yes, and how do you know that anyway?" Ietaka questioned.

Isamu's eyes widened slightly before he looked down, "umm…I snuck into your office one day and read your bingo book," his son explained meekly

Ietaka felt pride swell in his chest, he never even noticed a break-in into his office, but at the same time he shouldn't nurture distrust amongst family. "Isamu you don't sneak into families things, distrust is fine for outsiders but the family is the most important thing, if we can't trust and respect each other's privacy then we can't trust or respect anything."

Isamu nodded eyes downcast in shame.

Ietaka sighed, deciding rip the bandage off now, "son the man you saw in my smithy today is called Kakuzu the monster of Taki, or of the five hearts, depending on who you're asking. He is a notorious missing nin, the oldest active Shinobi in the elemental nations and possibly the world. I won't sit here and justify his crimes to you because in a lot of cases they aren't, but despite all of that back in the day me and him were partners."

Isamu was looking up at him, big curious eyes that reminded him so much of the nick name his son stumbled upon in Konoha.

Ietaka leaned back against the wall, eyes growing distant with memories long past, "we were good, for years we never missed a target, I wouldn't go so far as to say Kakuzu and I were friends, we were more like…" He struggled to find the words for a moment, " understanding business partners."

"So what happened?" Isamu asked, sitting crisscrossed in his bed while leaning forward and putting his little hands on his ankles.

"Well war happened, things got too hard, we lost a few jobs to the villages and were gaining unwanted attention, soon we parted ways never speaking to each other again." Explained Ietaka.

Isamu tilted his head quizzically like a pup would when they heard a peculiar noise. "So why is he here now?"

Ietaka extended his left arm and pulled Isamu towards his side, his son leaned against him, little hand bunched up on his shirt. "There is a bad man hiding out in the forest, Kakuzu needs my help to track him down because your old man is the best tracker in the world, this will be the only time I do this, I don't want your life to become like mine was."

Ietaka felt his son nod against his side, he gently stood up, not wanting to be away from his son but knowing that Kakuzu was waiting for him outside of the village. He walked towards the door and opened it, "Isamu take care of your mother while I'm gone, and be wary of the forest until I come back…" He knew what Shio asked him to do but he couldn't look his son in the eyes at this moment, "I love you," He left the room without another word.

He walked into the living room to find Shio standing in the middle of the living room, she approached him and gave him a long kiss. "I know you won't be able to bring anything with you cause you'll have to shift a lot when you're gone so I restrained myself from giving you a bandoleer of scrolls."

Ietaka chuckled at that before his eyes widened in remembrance, "Oh that's right," his hand went for his neck and took off his bronze necklace. The chain was bronze as well as the stylized clawed hand that was attached to it. "Here take this, I don't want to lose it while I'm gone." Ietaka dropped the necklace into her open palm.

He leaned down once more kissing his wife deeply and lovingly, "I'll be back," he promised in a whisper as he pulled away, staring into her eyes the whole time.

Shio starred back, "you better," She then began unbuttoning Ietaka's shirt while he took off his pants. In a few moments he was standing naked in his living room, he walked toward the largest window in the living room. in an instant Ietaka focused his mind and chakra onto a different form. With little effort the man that was Ietaka was replace with a white feathered hawk, with a short screech the hawk leaped out the window and flew away from his home and into the cold winter air.

* * *

Moments later Kakuzu, who was waiting a few minutes' walk south east of Tanpo village, a hawk descend from the canopy above and land on a low hanging branch near the missing nin.

"Kaizen?" Kakuzu asked carefully.

"Yeah it's me, let's get this over with," the words coming from the hawk sounded strange, it was in a much higher pitch than human Ietaka was using earlier yet still had a rough texture to it. Kakuzu only guess that some chakra trick was used to allow the Kaizen man turned hawk to speak without lips.

The immortal shook himself from idle thought and looked up at the hawk, "so do you got any ideas on how to find this guy?"

Ietaka nodded, "if he wants to lay low but still be able to survive out in these woods then he'll need to find a source of fresh water that's away from civilization. We're in luck because most of the sources that I know of would be frozen this time of year, but I know of a few creeks that run into the Naka river that aren't near any villages are settlements, but they're deep into the forest and a few days journey away as I fly."

Kakuzu grunted, "it's a start, come on then lead the way."

With that Ietaka flapped his wings and flew off towards the east darting between trees and branches with practiced easy. Behind him Kakuzu followed easily, his experienced eyes and chakra senses keeping him in pace with Ietaka easily without losing him.

Despite himself Ietaka couldn't help but feel excited as the feeling that all Kaizen shared started stirring in him like a once dormant beast finally waking from its slumber. The red and warm feeling in the pit of his stomach thrummed In time with his heartbeat, the chase was on, Ietaka Kaizen was on the hunt once more.

* * *

 **This is the first part of the Ietaka chapters, I wanted to delve into some back story of Isamu's parents and I also want to show you what a full-fledged Kaizen is capable of without having to wait for Isamu to grow older. Unfortunately the chapter became a bit too long and I liked the anniversary and instructor scenes way too much to cut them out.**

 **I based the circlet off of Keyleth's circlet from critical role season one, I think it goes well with the druid theme that my characters have going for them but also lore because lore is fun.**

 **I'm going to continue to thank everyone that gives this story their time of day, time is the most valuable thing we have and to know that you've stayed here all this way means more to me than money ever could. Thank you all for favoring and following, big thanks to all the reviews too, you guys go that extra mile that shows how much you care, have a good day everyone.**

 **(Edit) Thanks to the reviewer who pointed out me using Isamu's name when referring to Ietaka, that's been fixed now.**


	11. Ietaka II

**Ietaka II**

* * *

Morning was soon upon them, Kakuzu stirred awake by the sound of a loud snap and the crunching of teeth.

Unwrapping himself from his cloak he sat up to find a white furred wolf gnawing on a piece of bone from a plump rabbit, the snowy fur around the wolf's snout stained red with the blood of its prey. The wolf took notice of the large rouge but otherwise paid little regard to him as it continued to break its fast.

The former Taki Shinobi opened a side pouch hidden beneath his cloak and brought out a ration of cold stale bread and began eating it with a grimace.

A sloppy snap came from the wolf as it pulled off a particularly stringy bit of meat from its kill, if Kakuzu hadn't been acclimated to his gruesome lifestyle than he might have felt his appetite leave him the sight. Kakuzu snapped a piece of cold bread with his teeth, the cold crunch in his mouth was almost enough to tempt him to give up and look for his own rabbit to kill, but that would take time, and time is money.

The man and wolf sat amongst the trees in relative silence, only the sound of the cold winter wind whispering though the wood and the sloppy chewing of the wolf could be heard.

It took only a few minutes for Kakuzu to eat his rations and with his food gone he stood, getting the wolf's attention. "Let's get going the target could be moving on as we speak." His gruff voice broke the silence.

The wolf quickly ripped a meaty chunk out of the rabbit and walked ahead whilst chewing the remains. "Geh norf," the wolf spoke with its mouth full.

The rouge understood however and looked up at the sky, "its overcast again, can't tell where the sun is." He explained.

The wolf swallowed its food and turned its head towards the sky, "alright hold on, I just ate so no need to use chakra for this."

Kakuzu watched as the wolf transformed before his vary eyes, too fast for normal eyes but his more expected senses caught the white fur shift to grey feathers and the for limbs turn into talons and wings.

Soon a large raptor with a wing span of over forty feet and stood proudly in the clearing at over twelve feet tall. It's large sky blue eyes shone with confidence and its light grey feathers ruffled in the wind.

"What the hell is that thing?" Kakuzu asked.

"O this, just a little something I came up with a while back, it's really good for long ranged travel and can go higher than any bird that isn't a summon ,I call it the Cloud Raptor." If the bird had lips then Kakuzu no doubt would have seen it giving him a cheeky grin.

"I didn't know you could create your own animals Kaizen, that's not something that came up when we were partners." The missing nin didn't allow his annoyance to show in his voice even if he could see how that ability could've helped them in jobs a dozen time over.

"It's not an easy thing, took me years of study to just get this one, and this isn't even my preferred animal." The Kaizen explained.

Kakuzu nodded, "that makes since, seeing how you preferred woman and drink when we were partnered more than picking up a book, time sure has changed you."

The great bird flapped it's wings and looked up towards the sky, "yet you haven't, a stubborn old rock you are." With that the great raptor flew up into the sky causing the snow around it to kick up and fall upon Kakuzu.

"You asshole!" Kakuzu yelled angrily shaking his fist up at the bird as the snow got under his shirt and encased him all the way up to his waist.

* * *

He was so high up, above the clouds and far into the sky, he could see the sun on the horizon and he knew if he went higher he would begin to see the dark of night. From this point in the sky he felt a peaceful solitude like no other, knowing that he was the only being capable of living this high without being atop the mountains of Lightning Country.

Ietaka breathed deeply, his modified lungs and body capable of making use of the thin air around him. He flapped his large wings, seeing his silhouette in the clouds below. One could mistake him for an eagle if not for his size.

He looked once again towards the horizon, if he wanted to, he could head east, over the ocean and towards the contentment far away where the Land of Demon lay, where he could disappear forever. He looked south towards Konoha and a whole mess of conflicted feelings. He looked west towards so many memories, to the desert tribes whom he lived amongst for some time, to Bear Country where he and Shio first attempted to settle down, to Kusa where he had killed so many during the war, to Ame where Danuja died.

Shaking his head of the fog he looked back down towards the clouds and dived, with wings flush to his sides he descended faster than a currier ninja on soldier pills. In seconds he broke the clouds and his vision was filled with hundreds upon hundreds of miles of snow covered forest. As he drew closer to the tree canopy he unfolded his wings and with a large singular flap had slowed his pace and allowed for a controlled landing atop a large tree.

His keen eyes saw movement from half a mile away inside the forest, he wasn't worried however, the lumbering form of his stalwart companion wasn't hard to miss.

A minute later and Kakuzu slowed his pace to a walk, looking up at his form that made the large tree he was on bend slightly with his weight. "Any reason why you're keeping that up, you've already seen the sun haven't you?" Kakuzu asked.

"Waste of chakra, the nearest non frozen source of fresh water is half a day's journey as I fly, get on my back, no point in you wasting chakra ether trying to keep up with me." Ietaka explained.

The missing nin huffed, "fine, let's get going then." With that he leapt up into the trees and with another jump landed on Ietaka's large feathered back.

"Hold on patch face," he said before flapping his wings once more and flew up high into the air.

"O shit!" Kakuzu yelled, clutching onto the winged beast that was his partner, running charka to his thighs and hands to stick himself tight as the gale force winds ripped his hood back and made his eyes water. "I hate you so much Kaizen!" His voice was lost in the wind.

* * *

Hours later the rouge had come to a stop near a creek running gently amongst the woods. The great bird that was Ietaka had let Kakuzu down a mile up wind from their destination and Ietaka himself took to the skies once again, circling a ten mile area overhead.

With his grey feathers, the clouds above would give him a great backdrop for cover, but Ietaka minded to not be too close least his wings blow them away.

His keen avian eyes scanned the area, a flash of movement, he focused his gaze and channeled charka into his eyes to help his already enhanced sight, allowing him to focus on a small shift in movement over eight miles away. "Just a doe," he sighed in disappointment. He continued to scan, occasionally looking back in Kakuzu's direction, seeing the brown cloak easily as it contrasted the white landscape.

The creek below was one of many that fed into the Naka river, he knew that the river itself wouldn't be a good place for someone on the lamb to hide out. It was a major river in the Land of Fire, not only for trade but also for its religious importance. Monks from all over would make a pilgrimage to the river year round as it was considered an enlightening experience for a monk to paddle their own boat down the river from its source in Naka lake near the border of the Land of Fire and Land of Hot water all the way to its mouth at the southern coast of the Land of Fire. The monks believed that the Sage of the Six Paths had been spirited away in a wicker basket when he was just an infant by his mother in order to save him for the evil Juubi, and it is said if one were to make the same journey the Sage made, one could possibly be given visions from the Sage and hear his ancient wisdom.

His keen eyes looked over the northern horizon, that is when he spotted it. A black plume of smoke raising over the trees, from the distance he guessed it could be a few hours flight away.

He descended back down towards Kakuzu, "I see smoke coming from the north, too much to just be a simple camp fire." Ietaka reported.

The missing Nin set down a broken twig he was inspecting and turned his head to look up at the large bird of prey, "up north huh, what's up there that could cause all that smoke?" He questioned aloud.

Ietaka shook the snow off his feathers, "only thing of note up there is the Firipusu Plantation, it's about harvesting season for tobacco, you think our mark might've hit it to get the crops for himself?"

Kakuzu frowned under his mask, "I don't know, from the looks of it he's been trying to lay low in this forest for the time being. It's highly unlikely to be him."

"It is a lot of smoke though Kakuzu and we haven't had any luck out here, might as well take a look." Ietaka reasoned.

Kakuzu nodded "fine let's have a look, but drop the bird, you're like a beacon to my chakra senses."

Ietaka sighed as his grey feathers shifted into mottled grey and white fur, his talons became padded paws with retractable claws, and his bright blue avian eyes became dark yellow feline. The snow leopard walked forward towards the north and past Kakuzu, "I could've sworn I had my signature suppressed better in that form."

The former Taki Shinobi followed the snow leopard close behind, "you probably were, just not to me and if I could've sense you in that form, other experienced chakra sensors can to."

Ietaka looked up towards his temporary partner, "you can't now at least right?"

Kakuzu shook his head.

The leopard sighed in relief, "good, was afraid I'd gone rusty."

Kakuzu chuckled, "what, age finally catching up to you?"

Ietaka chuckled with him, "age, what's that?" he asked rhetorically.

* * *

It was night and the cold winter air oppressed their bodies, they knew they couldn't risk a campfire, they were getting close to the plantation, about a few hours journey at most. Kakuzu was wrapped tightly around his heavy brown traveling cloak while Ietaka had dug himself a burrow underneath a tree for warmth.

Ietaka was curled up trying to get some rest when the low rumble Kakuzu called a voice spoke up. "So when did the great man of a thousand faces decided to settle down?"

The snow leopard knew that his partner was just asking to forget about the cold, it's what he always did when they were in these types of situations, not seeing harm in the question he answered. "Bout ten years before my son was born."

He heard Kakuzu snort, "a son, I don't know what's more surprising, that you weren't carful enough to get a woman pregnant or that you might have planned this."

"It was planned," Ietaka answered shortly.

The immortal clicked his tongue, "if you ask me I'd say you made a poor choice, I mean if I had your powers and the care for it, I'd seduced a young noble woman and lived the high life."

"Good thing I never asked you then," Ietaka grunted into his fur.

Kakuzu shifted himself around in the snow, "you've changed."

It was leopards turn to snort, "yeah that's kinda my whole thing patch face."

Kakuzu didn't laugh at the old joke, more like exhale more air out of his nose than normal, "get some sleep tentacle porn."

"Seriously, that was one time."

"Twice, and the second was used as an interrogation tool so you can't claim it was an accident."

"Bah go sew you dick back on."

There was a long pause before Kakuzu chuckled deeply, Ietaka snickering along with him.

* * *

Early the next morning the pair had walked further north, the density of the forest had begun to thin as they made way towards their destination.

Kakuzu had put a heng on his cloak making it look white and used his years of experience to stealthily ghost his way through the forest.

Ietaka was hunched down, prowling though the underbrush, belly nearly dragging on the floor as his padded paws made no noise. The leopard's keen nose could smell the smoke being carried with the wind.

Kakuzu being taller was able to spot it first, acres upon acres of burnt and charred tobacco plants had blackened the ground. From his vantage point he could see dozens of dead horses and their Samurai riders left out in the burnt fields as carrion for the crows that flew overhead. Over to his right he could spot a wall of earth in the middle of the road with dozens of arrows dotting the side facing towards the fields. Kakuzu risked standing up straighter which allowed him to see that they were uphill of a mansion, it was in the traditional style, the west wing had been caved in by a boulder and the roof was scorched but it otherwise looked alright. "What the hell happened here?" Kakuzu asked.

Ietaka peaked out the other side of the bush in front of him and turned his nose to the wind, he sniffed the air deeply for a few moments. "Too much smoke and blood, can't get anything right now," he said in annoyance.

The missing Nin scanned his eyes over the burnt fields, "I'm getting five chakra signatures, most of them have earth affinity except for one who's fire."

The leopard glanced up at his partner, "you never said our mark had a group with him."

Kakuzu nodded, "he didn't whenever I was tailing him, either this has nothing to do with the job or he was leading us into a trap."

Ietaka chuckled in amusement, "a trap, how quaint, either way we're going to check this out, if he isn't here than maybe they've seen him and we can take a few in, if he is then it's just less time I have to spend away from home."

The two approached carefully, moving slowly as a sudden movement would draw unseen eyes. Ietaka padded along silently, his gaze caught Kakuzu signaling for him to break right whilst the rouge kept walking forward. Doing so without a word he changed his trajectory into a wide right arch so he would eventually end up near the east flank.

He silently stepped over a fallen Samurai who wore dark forest green armor, his back was impaled by a long spear of earth, and his face had already been eaten away by scavengers. Ietaka felt lucky that it was winter, if it was the middle of summer than the body would be already rotten with decay and the fallen soldier would have been bloated enough to explode underneath his armor.

He stalked further towards the burnt fields, seamlessly changing his fur color to match the blackened surroundings. Soon he came upon a noise further into the fields, he slowly crept towards the noise, it growing louder with each step.

"Come on move damn you," the noise was an unfamiliar voice, it sounded young and agitated.

Ietaka was like a ghost amongst the burnt plant matter around him, never making a sound as he came closer to the voice grunting and pulling at something further up ahead.

He soon came upon the person the voice belonged to, it was a young man around his late teens to early twenties, the young man had grown out his beard to gangly perorations. He wore a black furred coat and black shinobi pants, on his head was a red bandanna with a slashed Iwa headband. The rouge Shinobi was attempting to pull a wagon laden with pilfered goods which had a silver plates, a few bronze candle holders, a marble bust of a man, and a barrel full of weapons.

The wagon was stuck in the mud, the fire having melted over a foot of snow and had turned the fields into a quagmire. Why this idiot was trying to make off with his goods though all this was anyone's guess.

Ietaka let the man struggle with his wagon for a few more minutes, letting him expend his energy while he laid in wait. "Gah, why couldn't I've been born with an earth affinity, fire is so useless out of combat!" The missing nin lamented.

" _Thanks for the information,"_ Ietaka chuckled inwardly.

The young man sighed in frustration, landing on his rear in the thick mud, back unknowingly facing the leopard. "Join up with this group Ijora, it'll be fine Ijora, you'll get a whole lot of loot Ijora," The missing nin mocked in a high pitched voice. "Fucking kill me," He sighed to the sky.

" _Wish granted,"_ with that thought Ietaka pushed chakra into his legs and burst towards the unaware ninja.

The young man didn't have enough time to react as he felt a row of sharp fangs clench around his throat, cutting of his surprised yelp before it could even leave his lips.

Ietaka was on the man's back, his front claws digging into his opponent's hands and impaling them into the mud below. He enlarged his back claws and stuck them into the rouge's ankles, pining them into the ground as well. He could feel his prey's heart races under his jaws and licked the blood that flowed around his fangs.

The former Iwa shinobi attempted to struggle, a small gurgle escaped his bloody lips as he made a great effort to lift his head from the mud.

" _Can't have that,"_ Ietaka thought, with barely a conscious pulse of chakra he lengthened his sharp teeth until they dug towards the bone. He could feel it, the vertebra was just a hair's breath away. With a low growl he bite down hard, and with a sickening crunch the man below stopped struggling, ten seconds was all it took to kill a man.

Ietaka wanted to be sure however so he got off him and turned the man over, he bent down and placed his head over the man's chest and channeled chakra into his ears to make his already enhanced hearing hyper sensitive. He waited for half a minute, nothing, the man was indeed dead.

He pulled the man by the collar of his jacket further into the burnt fields, he studied his face and all of his physical features, he was a solid five foot seven height, his shoulders weren't very board and his arms muscles weren't as developed as his leg muscles. His eyes were a light greenish brown, his hair was almost black but was actually just very dark brown.

Ietaka shifted into the man and began pulling off his clothes quickly so as to not freeze in the cold, whilst doing so he discovered the man had a few scars on his chest that were old, possibly from childhood. He quickly added them to his new form, pulling off his pants he discovered he had a tattoo of the Sunagakure emblem near his nether regions, there was no doubt a story to it but it didn't matter anymore. _"Better safe than sorry though,"_ he thought, adding the tattoo to his form as well.

In just a few minutes he was dressed and looked exactly like the dead and naked man at his feet, right to the nail length and small chip on his front tooth. Ietaka cleared his throat and tested his voice, "test, test," his pitch and tone shifted with each word, "hello, hello, hello." A moment later he finally found the right voice. "Ijora, that was his name wasn't it?" he asked himself.

He shrugged and walked towards the mansion, he passed more dead cavalry and over arrows dotting the area. Closer to the mansion there were at least five earth walls which were both dotted with arrows and scorched with fire.

He saw the stables were half burnt with many dead horses still inside, he winced at that, knowing the horrid noise that dying horses made, it still gave him nightmares from time to time. _"This wasn't just some petty robbery, this was a full on strategic assault on the plantation and Firipusu family. What does this group get out of it, who hired them or was this just an attack made by a desperate group of rouges?"_ Ietaka wondered.

He soon was near the entrance to the mansion, the ground here was as sodden with mud as the fields. The front entrance to the mansion slid open and a woman in a dark blue jacket, short cropped black hair, blue eyes, and a slashed Iwa headband tied to her left bicep walked out. "Ijora, you already got your loot, what're you doing back here?" The woman asked as she crossed her arms.

Ietaka huffed and kicked at the ground, "damn wagon's stuck in the mud," he grumbled.

The woman smirked, "ha, told ya, what did you expect after you burned all the crops you idiot."

"Yeah, hey listen I need to speak with the boss about something." He said to the woman, taking a gamble and hoping it would pay off.

She narrowed her eyes, "the hell you are, you pissed him off this morning and you just barely left with your skin, you want to risk the landslide?"

Ietaka frowned, _"damn why did I have to shift into the biggest idiot of the group?"_ He lamented.

"tsk, I couldn't be the only one who's got their share and dived." He tried for another route, he confirmed that they had a boss but he still need to find out what type of group of rouge this is, if it was the type that just got together for one job then this'll be easier, if it was a tight nit group then it would be much harder.

"Actually yes you are, Katami, Yami, and Fuso are all still here, unlike you who only cares for himself," she glared angrily at him.

" _Shit all those sound like first name, she's familiar enough with them to talk about them like that, I think I might've just made this job much harder."_ He thought.

Ietaka turned Ijora's face into a look of guilt, "I-I'm sorry alright, it's just…" he glanced his eyes towards the stables, "I mean we've done a lot you know, this…this was kinda fucked." He was banking on the sound that haunted him was something that was universal.

The former Iwa Kunoichi's eyes softened, "yeah, I get that, but its Tsuchikage-sama's orders." She placed a hand on his shoulder.

" _These aren't missing ninja,"_ he realized.

It wasn't uncommon for hidden villages to make a shinobi go 'rouge' as to have plausible deniability if their actions take them out of country. These shinobi were the ones who were front line fighters and not the stealthy assassins that would inhabit the secret forces within the village like Konoha's ANBU. But to have a whole group of them be faux rouges like this, _"Iwa must be planning something big,"_ he mused.

" _But why were they going to let Ijora just walk if they weren't really rouge ninjas?"_ His mind flashed to various reasons until he came to one conclusion.

"Well shit,," he cursed, looking down at the kunai stabbed into his gut.

"We told you there was only one chance for leniency, yet you left and came crawling back like a sniveling little rat, I should have known, once a traitor always a traitor." The woman snarled. She twisted the metal into his stomach,

Ietaka could feel her pierce though his intestines and scratch his stomach, the pain was like a burring pressure that got worse with every second. "F-fuck this," He gritted his teeth.

In a second his head morphed from human into a large black snake, he lunged his head forward and bit down onto the neck of the woman.

She yelled in surprise and pain as she backed away.

The rest of Ietaka's body shifted into that of the Swamp Viper of the Land of Rivers, the largest venomous snake on the continent, the snake both forced venom into its victims and constricted them with its massive size.

He quickly coiled his large ten foot long body around the woman, forcing her arms to her side preventing her from creating jutsu. _"Just a few second and the venom will take effect."_ He thought. It wouldn't kill her, the venom paralyzed its victims but since the snake's preferred prey are things like baby elephants, chances are she would die of thirst or exposure before the venom wore off.

A clatter of footsteps from inside the mansion raced towards the entrance, Ietaka heard this and without a second of hesitation shifted again into a tiny field mouse and scampered towards an overturned cart nearby.

Three people two males one female all wearing heavy jackets and slashed Iwa headbands came storming out of the mansion with kunai and swords ready. "What the hell was that?" The young woman, looking to be in her mid to late teens with her blond hair tied into a small pony tail.

"Kima-san is down, Yami, Katami stay together and search the area, I'll bring her inside." A short man of about five foot two inches ordered his much taller comrades with the confidence that only experience could give you.

"Right," both Yami and Katami said together.

The shorter man dragged Kima's body away into the mansion and slammed the door behind him.

The woman held her katana at the ready, carefully moving half steps forward, eyes darting around the area for any signs of movement.

The young man, around the woman's age, with black hair and equally black eyes, held one kunai on his left hand and had his right hand ready to use for hand seals.

Ietaka stayed still, making sure to keep his mousy form the same color as the very dark brown earth around him. _"They are covering each other's flanks pretty well, and their body language says they've fought together many times before. I have no tools and no way of knowing their skills sets other than the fact that they're earth natured thanks to Kakuzu, I don't even have the element of surprise anymore. I'm going to need to bait them to see what they can do then go from there."_ He didn't like it, any plan that risked your life and limb first then attacking later was a bad plan, but it's all he's got.

He was just about to jump out of his hiding place when he felt a stab of pain, _"O right, I've been stabbed, and I'm a mouse, going to lose blood in a few seconds if I don't switch to something bigger."_ He hated how he needed to focus on regrowing lost or destroyed body parts, he could grow a tail out of nowhere or add limbs atop of limbs but replacing something that was lost involuntarily was much harder to get back.

" _I don't have enough chakra or time to heal it manually, so I'll just have to wing it and hope that Kakuzu does his job."_ With that he leaped forward towards the fields.

The sudden movement caught the sight of the not so missing ninja and on instinct the young man threw his kunai towards him forcing him to change direction at the last second.

"You idiot Yami, it's just a mouse!" Katami berated.

Ietaka's turn had him facing the pair, he decided to ditch his plan all together and scampered his way towards the young woman.

The blond was still wary of the surroundings but flashed the cute mouse a smile, "hey there little guy, it's about to get real bad over here so why don't - Oh sweet Kami!" Ietaka came closer to the cooing Kunoichi and just as he was three feet away from her he suddenly transformed into a large twelve foot tall brown grizzly bear.

Ietaka roared as he lunged towards the woman, sharp claws strong enough to dig trenches trough solid stone.

Katami had enough time to raise her sword in a block but his claws tore right though the metal and clawed a deep gash over her arm and torso. She screamed in pain as blood fell from her body and stained the muddy ground below.

"What the fuck it that!?" Yami yelled whilst going through hand signs rapidly, Ietaka lumbered towards him in a full sprint but wasn't fast enough as out from the earth, three earthen spears sailed towards him intent to impale his massive body.

Ietaka stopped in his tracks and gave a deep breath. Channeling chakra from his stomach and out his mouth a great gout of flames met the earthen spears, softening them just enough so that instead of being impaled he was just burnt by hot mud.

He continued his dash towards the male Iwa ninja, who had just enough time to throw up an earth wall between him and the incoming bullet of fur. Ietaka roared as he easily slammed though the wall and trampled the young man behind. He felt a crunch beneath this right paw and felt something snap under his right foot.

Ietaka looked back to see the Shinobi had replaced himself with a nearby barrel, his sensitive bear ears picked up the faint sound of a kunai being pulled from a hip pouch. Pushing charka into his legs he jumped towards the sound at great speeds, causing a small crater to from by the force of his jump.

Yami was taken by surprise as the large bear burst though the burnt wall of the stable, only the young man's years of training saved him from the massive jaws of the beast that tried to take a bite out of his torso.

Ietaka pressed his advantage, continuously snapping at the young man, keeping him too busy by dodging and not allowing him to recover his comrade to retreat. He could smell the blood leaking out the young woman like a broken damn, his claws had hit a few major blood vessels and he knew she would bleed out in a few seconds if she wasn't treated.

By the way the young man was beginning to slow and occasionally darting his eyes towards the fallen Kunoichi, Ietaka knew that this battle wouldn't last much longer.

Yami ducked under his clawed slash, the attack hitting a load bearing wall inside the stables and causing the already fragile structure to begin to fall. Ietaka was forced to jump aside as a large beam crashed to the ground, his opponent took this opportunity to retreat out the stables, Ietaka using his large body to his advantage easily pushed tough the falling derby in pursuit.

Ietaka saw Yami kneeling next to the blond haired girl Katami, he could see the Shinobi shaking as he closed her eyes.

"I don't know what the hell you are," Yami spoke, turning to the bear, his black hair shadowing his eyes, "but you killed the only person that was worth living for," he clutched his fists in anger, "I'm going to kill you, and wear you're fucking pelt!" Yami yelled, crashing his fists together, in that moment the mud from the ground seemed to defy gravity and float up towards Yami's fists, forming around them as layer upon layer of mud caked around his hands until Yami wore large gauntlets made of hardened rock.

The two faced off in the cold, mud at their feet, a young woman dead, man against beast. They prepared to continue their battle but a rumble sounded somewhere at the back of the mansion, and the earth quaked underneath him. "Shit here it goes," Ietaka curse before the large grizzly shrank down and fur became feathers. Just in time he transformed himself into a snow white hawk as the ground beneath him erupted into a mass of spikes. Yami disappearing from his sight and worry as he was forced to fly or be impaled.

Dodging the spikes with his swift wings he climbed higher and higher, his talons scraping one of the spikes on the side for a brief second. He flew over two hundred feet in the air before the earthen spikes stopped growing.

He circled the spikey terrain looking for whoever cause the sudden terraforming, his keen eyes spied the dark brown cloak of Kakuzu jumping between spikes, shooting bolts of lightning at another figure garbed in a mottled white and grey cloak.

Ietaka narrowed his eyes and zeroed in on the white figure, a blast of lighting came close to it, so close that in that moment the hood was pulled down to reveal a man in his late twenties. Sweptback black hair, a scar from his left ear running down toward the middle of his chin. He had grown his beard out for the winter and he looked a bit more malnourished than his picture in the bingo book but it was certainly him, Nobunori Ishii the Earth Breather.

Ietaka searched for an opening in the battle raging below, Nobunori turned a few of the spikes against his opponent by using the earth around him to create hundreds of earthen spears all shooting at Kakuzu in every direction. Kakuzu seemed to stop for a moment, but then just before the hawk's eyes he disappeared in a blur of movement and punched the white cloaked man in the face with a lighting enhanced fist.

Nobunori flew backwards into the air and off of a spike, _"Now's my chance!"_ Ietaka thought before he dived down, using wind chakra to cloak his wings, getting ready to use his hawk-wind scythe combo.

But in those few seconds span of time Nobunori had turned his head towards him, as if expecting him to enter the fight, the white cloaked man smirked and held his hand in a seal. The dozens of large spikes Ietaka was passing between suddenly changed color form dark muddy brown to bone white.

Ietaka's eye's widened at the realization, Nobunori had baited him out, "oh."

An enormous explosion echoed throughout the large expanse of the Land of Fire woods, a mushroom cloud of dust climbed over the tree tops, and for miles around the forest fell into silence.

* * *

 **I've been wanting to write a fight with the Kaizen bloodline for a while, I'm not all that sure how well I wrote the action. I'm still of the mind that action doesn't really translate too well into a written format, especially action that was originally designed to be showed though illustration and animation.**

 **To those few who can't tell the difference between an illusion like the henge and an actual physical transformation like shape shifting. I won't defend myself in an author's note, that's lazy and makes it look like I'm trying to explain my story to you rather than let the story tell itself.**

 **Once again thank you for all of the reviews, follows, and favorites. Last chapter was the most successful one yet, and at the time of finishing this chapter I have 50 reviews which is insane. I honestly thought that something that I put time and effort into wouldn't get the time of day, it's really easy to just think that the fandom only cares about the OP Naruto stories and or smut. I mean my shitty Naruto Rinnegan story got over 100 reviews within a year and that made me feel awful, so many cliché and stupid mistakes. I mean I put in a fucking civilian council and a drunken attack on Naruto can you believe that? Yeah I feel disgusted too.**

 **Well here's to making up for mistakes and giving the middle finger to annoying fan fiction clichés my dudes, let's hope this story keeps going good, ya'll are all awesome!**


	12. A Worried Winter

**A Worried Winter**

* * *

"Okay Isamu-chan just like I showed you, send chakra to your feet and evenly distribute your weight on top, remember you're not trying to stick to the ground but to stay atop it." Shio instructed as she stood atop the fallen snow, never sinking even a hair of an inch in the cold and compact powder beneath her slippers.

I raised my right leg up first, concentrating my chakra to the bottom of my feet, imagining a snow shoe in my head. I put my foot down in front of me, leg shaking while I did so. My foot lightly grazed the top of the snow, I hadn't put any weight on it yet. "A bit more chakra sweetie, you need about the end of a pinky between you and the ground." Shio advised.

I nodded and bite the side of my cheek in concentration, threading the needle between just the right amount of chakra and blowing up snow right in my face. I chanced putting the slightest bit of pressure on my foot, I felt the oddly strong yet flexible feel of my chakra just below my slipper. I put more pressure on it, no fall yet, more pressure and my concentration held, I put even more pressure and now I was balancing on my right leg with my left held up above the snow.

"Very good job Isamu-chan, now take the other step, just like you did with the first, you can do it." Shio smiled.

I repeated the process with my left foot, putting it down gently, concentrating on the snow shoe image in my head, and wait for my chakra to gather to that pinky tip thickness. I chuckled when I found myself standing above the snow, my foot prints leading from the back door of the house only to disappear twenty feet away to where I stood.

I could hear Shio hold back a squeal, she had covered her mouth just in time so only a little 'eep' could be heard from her. "I'm doing it Kaasan," I announced.

Shio's smile couldn't have gotten any bigger, "yes you are, my smart little boy, go ahead and start walking now." She encouraged.

I raised my right foot again, biting my cheek in concentration once more to keep the chakra still. I took one step, no sinking, no footprint, my smile grew. Left foot again, _"you put one foot in front of the other,"_ I thought. I put my left foot down, again no track, _"and soon you'll be walking across the floor,"_ I continued. Right foot again, still a success, _"You put one foot,"_ left foot followed soon after, _"in front of the other."_ I started walking over the snow, slowly but more leveled than my Bambi steps a few seconds ago, _"and soon you'll be walking out the door."_ I laughed loudly in triumph, it felt strange walking atop chakra, like I was walking on something solid but at the same time I felt it subtly shift and move to keep my weight evenly distributed along my feet. Like a water bed of sorts.

"Blond hair long!" Shio suddenly shouted.

I stalled for a brief moment, left foot still raised over the snow, with a small concentration of will I changed my short brown hair into pale blond and lengthened my newly colored strands to reach past my shoulders.

Shio approached me with a critical eye, she grabbed a lock of my now long blond hair between her fingertips. She smiled again, "very good Isamu-chan, not a single brown hair, but remember dear not to make them all the same length, natural strands of hair is always a bit off," she advised.

I nodded as I shortened my hair and darkened it back into its chestnut brown color. "Am I ready for the partial transformations yet Kaasan?" I asked.

She shook her head, "not quite yet sweetie, it takes a lot more chakra control to pull off a partial transformation, and when you first start changing your body parts it tends to hurt, but the pain dulls over time."

A frown tugged at my lips slightly, over a year since I started practicing my bloodline and I haven't been able to do anything more than these cosmetic shifts. I mean it's cool and all, being able to change the color of my eyes or skin at will, but what's the point of being a shape shifter if you can't even use your powers outside of your home?

"Okay that's all for today, now go on, Rena-san's expecting you." Shio gently turned me around and pushed my shoulders forward.

"Yes Kaasan," I said before picking up the pace and walked off towards the village proper.

* * *

The snowy streets of Tanpo village weren't as lively during the winter compared to most of the year, especially during this particularly harsh winter. According to some of the older people in the village this is the most snowfall they've seen for over twenty years, and thanks to this, things haven't been exactly easy in the village. Food is becoming more and more scarce by the day as game is being driven away towards warmer climates, and trade has practically stopped completely as merchants wait for the thaw. We've all had to dip into the communal grain and rice stores that are kept for this very occasion, having that has been a real help but sooner or later we're going to run out of food and if this winter doesn't end soon than we might have to relocate to a different area. _"It would be a real shame if it came to that though, Tanpo has really grown on me,"_ I mused, passing by Ietaka's dormant smithy.

I glanced towards the workshop with a frown, Ietaka left nearly three weeks ago, _"he just had to go act on his midlife crisis didn't he, hey let's just take up bounty hunting with Kakuzu again, he's only one of the most dangerous criminals in the entire fucking world!"_ I ranted inwardly.

I marched my feet angrily in the snow and continued on towards the Inn.

* * *

The inside of the inn was warm and cozy, but that didn't distract me from the fact that it was almost entirely empty save for the proprietor of the inn sitting at one of the tables with her head in her hands. Rena of the locally famous inn Rena's Rest was one of the only teenagers in the entire village, her shoulder length black hair was almost always tied into a bun when working, but today she had forgone the bun, even her old apron wasn't tied to her like usual and was sitting haphazardly across a nearby table.

"Hey Rena-san," I greeted, shaking my hair of fallen snow.

The teenager rose at my greeting and turned towards me, she had bags under her dark eyes and her smile seemed more strained than usual. "Oh Isamu-kun how are you?"

"Fine, is you're guest still asleep?" I asked.

Rena sighed tiredly as she pushed a stray lock of hair behind her ear, "so far yes, he's woken up a few times briefly, but he was delirious when that happened. If he doesn't get better soon we might have to ask for help from Konoha."

I frowned, Konoha's help will no doubt be very expensive, money that no one in the village could afford to spend, especially with the food crisis. But at the same time if the guest dies in Rena's care then her along with the entire village could possibly be charged with negligence or even treason if the Marshal is feeling particularly vindictive the day of sentencing. "What do you need me to do?"

Rena grabbed a whicker basket from a nearby table and handed it to me, it was full of freshly cleaned cloth cut into strips, "change his bandages like I showed you, if he wakes up give him the water that should still be in the room, remember to be very, very respectful to him."

Rena wasn't a serious person by nature, she was fairly laid back and often didn't take any shit from her guests. So to see her this serious and worried truly brought home the gravity of the situation. The man asleep up stairs could possibly have the authority of an entire noble house for all we know, and the nobility is hardly ever the friends of the peasantry. "I'll do my best Rena-chan, don't you worry," I used my toddler smile widely to easer her worries.

She ruffled my hair, "be careful okay, I'll be down here taking a nap, just yell if you need me."

I nodded before making my way up the stairs, all the rooms were vacant and left wide open save for one that was slightly ajar nearest the stairway to the left, I quietly slid the door open and peered into the room. The room was on the small side, just barely bigger than my room back at Shio and Ietaka's place. It was lit by the window which remained closed with the curtains open letting in the bright white light of the snowy outside.

The man asleep on the futon was young, possibly not even a day over seventeen. His shirt was off and in its place were several bandages wrapped around his torsos that only slight obscured his lean athletic build underneath. The young man's face was slightly grimacing from the pain of his wound's even in sleep, and as is tradition of his status, his black hair tied into a top not was left untouched even as parts of it fell out and into his face.

I entered the room as quietly as I could, sending a side glance towards the forest green colored armor that rested in the corner. Well what was left of it anyway, the left side of the armor looked like it was caved in by some sort of heavy bludgeon like a maul or something.

Kneeling down on the floor next to the futon, I deftly started to unwrap the Samurai's bandages, noting that the bleeding had slowed down as I didn't see any red until I was met with the third layer of bandages. I grimaced as the smell finally hit me and just barely managed to hold back a gag.

The wound was an ugly sight, many little gashes were torn into the flesh by the splinters of the man's armor that Rena and her brother Renjiro were able to extract. His entire left side looked like a big purple and yellow colored bruise and at the edges of some of the healed over tissue there was puss and something that I desperately hopped wasn't necrosis.

"Yep that's infected," I whisper the obvious to myself.

There wasn't much I could do at this point, cauterizing the wound would be pointless as infection had already set in. On top of that knowledge of medicine outside of the nobility and ninja villages are pretty much made up of looking for the right plants to press against the wound and praying for the evil spirits to go away. So in fact I was probably the most capable medic for miles around, which is just sad since all I knew how to do is basic first aid, knowledge of germs, and how to spot a few different ailments and common cures and preventative measures of spreading infection. Like remembering to wash my hands that I totally didn't forget to do on the way up here.

"God I'm turning into one of them aren't I," I looked down at my bloody hands in disgust, me not washing my hands probably just killed this guy faster than he was already dying, a mercy for him but hell for us.

I quickly left the room leaving the door open, silently I walked down the stairs. I saw Rena who was asleep at a table with her arms folded as a makeshift pillow. I quickly found the bucket of water she uses to splash on the floor and leave over night to wash out stains, or at least that's what she believed happens, not knowing that it was probably rotting her wood floors. I dipped my hands inside the bucket and used a nearby towel to wash my hands before I went about the task of trying to find the strongest liquor Rena had.

It took me a few moments because all Rena had was sake and none of the good stuff like whisky and or vodka. But thankfully she kept the very strong stuff labeled with a red dot on the side, and from the smell of it alone It seemed I was right in my assumption. I quickly replaced all the things I used to clean my hands, tossing the towel into the fireplace and emptying and refilling the water bucket.

Ten minutes later I was already back in the room kneeling next to the sleeping Samurai.

The Sake on my hands as I poured it out of the bottle was cool and I was relieved that I didn't feel a sting that would tell me that I had an open cut . I would be mortified if after all this time and hype about living in the Naruto would I die by the age of four from AIDS of all things.

I was about to rewrap the bandaged when I looked at the bottle of strong sake and gave a shrug, his body is already infected but the least I could do is try to kill any new bacteria so no other infections could come into play, at least that's how I think it works.

As the first drop of sake fell unto the wound, a hand suddenly shot up and grasped weekly at my wrist. I nearly shit myself as I felt my heart fall all the way into the pit of my stomach in fear, slowly I turned my head towards the Samurai's face, hopping he was still asleep.

The young man's eyes were half open and were glazed in an unseeing semi lucid state, "M-Makaira, I-I have to save h-her." He whispered to me in a hoarse voice. He tried to sit up but was too weak and fell back down after only sitting up an inch off the futon. "P-please, s-she's just a little girl, d-don't hurt her." The man's grip on my wrist tightened slightly, his eye's opened wider but he wasn't looking at me, his head turned towards the window watching the branches of a nearby tree blow in the bitter winter wind. "I-it's all I have left," he whispered before passing out again.

I breathed a deep sigh of relief as his eyes closed, "don't scare me like that Tom Cruise." I joked in an attempt to calm my beating heart.

I didn't know much about medicine but I did know that he would be lucky to survive the night, at this point it's a question of if I want this village to die of an angry noble for us letting his Samurai die, or from starvation from using all of our funds on a ninja medic. "It's not my decision to make anyway," I whispered to myself.

"Diligent as always I see young Isamu-san," An older and gravelly voice spoke from behind me.

My head turned to see the Elder Satoshi standing in the doorway, stroking his long salt and pepper beard, the laugh lines around his mouth where pulled upwards as he gave me a smile with his yellowed teeth.

"How can I help you Elder?" I asked respectfully, whilst standing up from my kneeling position.

Satoshi stepped forward into the room, "Ah I had wanted to see our guest for myself, to see if he was truly a lost cause or not." Informed the older gentleman.

I side stepped to allow him to stand above the injured Samurai, "I think his wound is infected Elder, I don't know if he'll survive the night."

The Elder knelt down to examine the young man closer, "and how would you know his wound to be infected young Isamu-san?" He asked.

"His cut smells bad and there was puss around it too," was my answer.

Satoshi chuckled lightly, "again you don't answer the full question, one day I'll get you."

I smiled back, this was a small game the Elder and I played, he would ask a question about how I would know the things I know and I would technically answer. It started around my fourth birthday when the Elder took it upon himself to tutor me in academics, he said it was because I had potential or something but really I think he was just bored. He was the only human that I was comfortable talking relatively normal with, I suspected that he may know of my reincarnation and I think he knows that I know that he knows but neither of us have brought it up.

The Elder placed the back of his hand on the Samurai's forehead, "his fever has gotten worse," he said with a frown.

"What do we do?" I asked after a period of silence.

"I had hoped the Kami would heal him by now but it seems that they have decided to work slower than our needs demand." Satoshi sighed as he stood up from his kneeling position, "as much as I distrust Konoha and their ilk, we unfortunately have to ask for their aid."

"Wouldn't that cost more than the village could afford?" I questioned.

The Elder inclined his head towards the broken forest green armor laying in the corner of the room. "That shade of green on his armor shows his allegiance to the Firipusu family and they are said to have been close with Hiruzen."

I raised an eyebrow in askance, "the Firipusu family, what makes them so important?"

Satoshi began to walk out of the room and I followed close behind, "They are the owners of some of the largest tracks of land not directly under the domain of Daimyo-sama. Not only that but the crops that they grow is a plant known as tobacco, a crop that is so lucrative that its often referred to as green gold."

We silently walked through the bar and dining area of the inn, letting Rena to catch up on much deserved rest at one of the tables. Once we left the inn I picked up the conversation, "so a Samurai from that plantation being here and injured could be a sign of trouble to come."

The Elder nodded, "you are quite right young Isamu-san, the plantation is only a day's ride from the Land of Hot Water, their rulers are said to be weak and so I don't doubt that they would allow a contingent of Lightning Samurai or even Kumo Shinobi to sack the Firipusu estate."

I frowned at that notion, the thought of mounting hostilities and border clashes with the major powers wasn't something that was against canon per se but I still felt worried that my presence might have caused too many unknown divergences. I decided to not think about that disturbing topic and asked another question that had been bothering me since the start of the conversation. "Why do you keep referring to these nobles as a family rather than a clan?"

Satoshi stepped around a patch of ice on the road as he answered, "to call the Firipusu a clan would be an overstatement, they are but two people, a husband and a wife. Rumor has it that they were amongst the first generation to graduate from the Konoha Shinobi academy, hence the supposed closeness to Sarutobi."

"I didn't know Shinobi are allowed to own land." I stated.

We made the short walk to the Elder's house and walked into the cozy warm abode, "in most cases they wouldn't be. Shinobi, despite their dishonorable actions, are technically Samurai according to the law."

"But then why are Kunoichi allowed to exist when women can't take up the sword?" I asked whilst pulling thick slippers off my feet.

Satoshi moved towards his kitchen as I made myself comfortable on a chair. "That is a question I ask myself often, women by all laws of Kami and men should be protected and made to build families for men to come home to. Yet Konoha and their ilk defies the laws of the Kami and get away with their defiance." The old man stated from the kitchen.

I didn't voice my disagreement, I subscribe to the idea that women are people so his notion was pretty dated by my standards. But not only was his opinion on the roles of women wrong he also failed to realize that the Daimyo and other nobles benefits from this hypocrisy and so no one wants to bring this issue up in the Daimyo's court.

He came back with a tray of steaming hot tea poured into porcelain cups which he put down onto the table between us. "I should correct myself, the Kami have in fact punished Konoha for their sins. The Kyuubi is proof enough that the Monks at the Fire Temple should take control of the village."

Again I didn't voice all of my disagreements with that statement, yes Konoha and all Ninja villages should be run out of business for the sake of all humanity, but again not only was he factually incorrect about the Kyuubi attack but also ideologically wrong in saying that the Monks should take control of Konoha and given even more political power. "Surly it would be better if Konoha would fall to the hands of its residence rather than taken control by men of the cloth." I couldn't help but say.

Satoshi gave me a hard look, "that's ridiculous, only those acknowledged by the Kami have a right to rule, and the people wouldn't know what to do with themselves and likely bring the village into ruin and anarchy."

" _Elder Satoshi is more zealous than I thought he was."_ I realized, "of course forgive my ignorance honorable Elder." I bowed my head lowly, this debate wasn't worth getting kicked out of town for.

The old man reached forward and placed a hand on my shoulder, "that is quite alright dear boy, a young mind is a curious thing, just beware that mind of yours least it stray into wrong thought."

I nodded with respect I didn't fully feel for the Elder, "is there a lesson for the day Elder?" I asked, trying to get off this dangerous topic.

Satoshi stood and began to walk towards a small scroll and ink well placed on the far side of the room. "Of course there is, today I will show you how to wright a formal request, especially when that request is to someone who you disagree with."

"I see," I didn't let my disappointment show, _"Ugh more formal writing, it's like he's training me to be a chancellor at someone's court or something."_

And so for the majority of the day Elder Satoshi guided me in my first ever formal letter to arguably the most powerful man currently alive.

* * *

I sighed tiredly when I finally made it back to Shio and Ietaka's, my four year old body wasn't used to staying up this late continuously without naps. I stalled after pulling off my slippers when I noticed that the house was far too quiet, it was around five in the afternoon, Shio should be home by now cooking dinner or at least having a chat with one of the animals that call the forest home. But right now it was silent with only the ticking of the clock in the kitchen to be heard.

"Kaasan?" I called.

I took a carful step into the house, the wood beneath my foot creaked slightly. The sound caught me off guard and made my heart race, I looked down and decided to implement the new trick Shio taught me today.

With just a small application of chakra to the souls of my feet, I stepped forward. No creak, again I stepped forward silently, soon I was in the middle of the living room. I looked around and saw nothing, but my eyebrow rose at seeing the a log burning in the hearth. _"Did Shio step out, it's not like her to leave the fire going."_

"Surprise attack!" a small voice shouted from above me.

My heart raced abruptly as my body went into fight or flight, a black cat leaped towards me from the top shelf of the bookcase. I just barely managed to dodge the cat by falling prone on the floor.

"Tsk I gave you five minutes to notice me, do you know how many bad people could've hurt you by then Isamu-chan?" The cat admonished while she began to pace on my back.

"I'm sorry Kaasan," my voice was muffled into the floor as cat Shio sat on the back of my head.

"When your Otosan gets home I'll make sure he ups your training," Shio finally allowed me to stand up after she leaped off my head.

I looked at cat Shio with annoyance as she walked into the kitchen. She had been doing this more and more often lately, hiding somewhere in the house as a cat or some other small creature and jump scaring the shit out of me. I should've realized what was going on the moment I stepped in the house but I guess my mind still wonders too much.

The kitchen had Shio sitting on the table drinking milk out of a small bowl while my dinner of rice and stale bread was across from her. I sat down and began to eat, occasionally looking at cat Shio as she kept drinking her milk.

"What?" Shio asked with a cocked head, milk dripping from the black fur around her mouth.

I looked down at my mostly eaten dinner, "you don't have to eat only milk for dinner Kaasan." It didn't feel right with me eating a normal human meal while Shio was subsisting on mostly milk and the occasional mouse that found their way into the house.

Shio walked over to me and rubbed her head gently against me cheek, "o my sweet baby boy, it's alright for me to eat like this. I've been in this form for much longer than a few weeks before," she placated.

My eyebrow rose questioningly, "you have, when?"

The Kaizen woman sat back down across the table, "oh it was a long time ago, it wasn't a good time," she looked down into the bowl of milk her yellow eyes lost in memory. "I-I was, not feeling good at the time."

"Like a tummy ach?" I asked childishly.

Shio shook her head, "no I was…sad, really sad and I, didn't want to be a human anymore."

I nodded in understanding, that feeing has been a constant companion of mine for years. "Still Kaasan you should eat too."

She gave me a small smile, "it's alright sweetie, besides the village is almost out of food and I don't want to be a burden on more people."

Just then a shiver ran down my spine as the cold winter air briefly swiped though the house, "you don't have to worry any more about that." Ietaka's deep voice assured. The man came walking into the kitchen with a white cloak and snow caked into his beard, his arm was in a sling and he walked with a slight limp but he looked more or less okay. He smiled widely towards the two of us, "because the bounties of five Iwa Shinobi says otherwise." He pulled up a large sack of coin filled to near bursting with ryo.

* * *

It only took two days from the time Tanpo's emergency messenger hawk left with our request for aid and to the time it took said aid to arrive.

I was standing against the wall of the Samurai's room at the inn, a female ninja medic with green hair tied into a bun kneeled over her patient. "When was he found?" She asked through her white bandanna that covered her nose and mouth.

Rena answered from the doorway, "Renjiro found him almost a week ago, we thought he was dead when his horse came walking into the village from the forest."

I heard the medic click her tongue under her breath, "tsk, that will make this a bit harder."

Elder Satoshi took a step forward from his position in the middle of the room, "can you still save him?"

The Kunoichi nodded, "it will take me a few hours to make sure the infection is fully purged but it shouldn't be that difficult." She stated before placing her lightly green glowing hands over the Samurai's wounds.

"Ma-Makaira," everyone stilled when they heard the Samurai mumble, his eyes were glazed open again, his left hand weakly rose to grasp the medic's forearm. "M-my duty to protect, w-where… she?"

The woman shushed the delirious man and gently placed a green glowing hand against his forehead which caused his eyes to slowly close back shut and his body to fall into a restful sleep.

"He's been asking for that little girl off and on over the past few days. "I spoke up before looking towards the Elder and asked, "does the Firipusu family have children?"

The older man frowned in thought whilst stroking his beard, "from what I can remember of them no, all of their children died in Konoha's wars. But they could've easily have adopted a new one, I shall send a message to the Marshal and let him know about this girl."

The Kunoichi looked over her shoulder, "that won't be necessary, I believe the girl he is talking about is in Konoha right now."

Satoshi hummed in thought, "while that may be true that a girl by the name of Makaira is in Konoha, I should still send a message to the Marshal about this development. If an heir to such a wealthy estate is in danger than it will be both his and my obligation to see to her safety."

The medic gave the older man a hard stare that sent shivers down my spine, "I would suggest you don't, that girl has been through enough as it is, last thing she needs is to be involved in your politics."

The Elder took a half step back, "I-I am merely stating what is expected of me Kunoichi-san."

I decided to take the heat off of the old man, a bit sexist he may be but that doesn't justify getting the third degree from a super soldier. "How do you know that you and the Samurai are talking about the same person, I don't want anyone to be lost from their family." I used my toddler appearance to its full advantage and looked at her with big brown eyes.

She faltered for a moment, her stormy grey eyes looking back at mine, "I was chosen for this mission because I was Makaira's attending nurse, that's all I am at liberty to discuss."

Satoshi nodded in understanding, "I see, Hir-," he had the presence of mind to catch himself from disrespecting the Hokage in front a Konoha ninja. "Hokage-sama was close with the Firipusu, if that is the case than I leave this affair to my betters," and with that he swiftly left the room.

Rena rolled her eyes as she entered, "don't mind him Kunoichi-san, he may be an old grouch but he's harmless."

The medic just shook her head and mumbled something about old men all being the same.

Now that the anti-anything to do with Ninja guy had left, I took this opportunity to approach the Kunoichi and ask her a few questions. "What'cha doin?"

"Isamu-kun don't bother her while she's working," Rena admonished.

The other woman waved her concern away, "it's quite alright," she turned her head to the right towards me as I had moved to kneel not too far away from her. "I am using my abilities to heal his wounds," she stated vaguely.

"Can you teach me?" I asked my shot in the dark question.

The slight movement behind her white bandana told me she was frowning. "I'm sorry but I would get in trouble if I told my secrets to someone who wasn't living in Konoha."

I bite my tongue to keep myself from retorting with a very treasonous sentence. The Hidden villages' monopoly on knowledge disgusts me, if everyone in the world has chakra then it is everyone's God given right to learn about it.

She must have seen my disappointed face and sighed, "I'll tell you what," she leaned towards me with a whisper, "just look inside yourself and you might just find your inner strength."

I smiled at her, she technically could be executed for just saying those few words no matter how vague they were, at least not every Ninja agrees with the status quo, quite an interesting bit of information. The medic straitened her back again and set herself back to work, yes quite interesting indeed.

* * *

 **It's been a long time since I last posted, I was kind of stuck in a hole and other IRL shit kind of drained me of inspiration. This will be the last chapter before a time skip, next chapter will actually have multiple. I wanted to have a sort of bridge chapter and information chapter in one.**

 **There is a reason that in most of my author's note I have ragged on about hating most fan fiction cliché, I'm someone that practices what I preach. At least when It comes to fan fiction writing. So I find it confidence boosting that some ya'll really thought I would kill off Ietaka, which is good because that's what I was going for. The good thing about OCs in fan fiction is that they aren't safe from the preexisting notion of having plot armor. Keeping you guessing with Ietaka's fate is what I had hoped for.**

 **Thank you all for the reviews and follows and favorites, this is my proudest work of fan fiction writing so far and it feel good to see people noticing it. I hope this chapter finds you all well, thanks again!**


	13. Growing Pains

**Growing Pains**

 **(Double line breaks mean a time skip just occurred mid chapter)**

* * *

The humid summer heat made the thin gray shirt stick to my chest with sweat as the unforgiving Fire country sun bore down on me. My arms were tired and felt like limp noodles at my sides, the constant pain coursing through them was only dulled slightly by the exhaustion I felt.

Ietaka stood in front of me with his arms crossed, his face was stern and lips drawn into a thin line below his bushy mustache. "Try it again, we aren't going back inside until you can complete this transformation."

I nodded numbly and grit my teeth as I force chakra into my arms for what felt like the hundredths time today. Pain, so much burning pain speared across my arms as bone and muscles and skin changed their entire physical being into a new form. I bite my cheek as a bone snapped and changed underneath my skin, I didn't dare to look down because I knew seeing my muscles and bone rolling under my skin would just make me vomit again. After the one minute mark I knew I was past the point of no return, if I were to stop my chakra right now then my arms would remain completely decimated at my side until I mustered enough chakra to change them back.

I grit passed the pain with my will alone, focusing on the cherry blossom tree as an anchor to keep my consciousness away from the bulk of the pain. After three minutes I was now at the limit that I had previously accomplished, but unlike last time I was much too exhausted to change my arms back to normal. With a yell I pulsed the last of my chakra I dared to send before chakra exhaustion could set in. With a final pop of my muscles I heard Ietaka say, "that's enough son, you did it."

I laughed tiredly and looked down at my arms, no longer were they the small human arms of a six year old boy, no, now they were the strong and long arms of a young chimpanzee. "I did it," I whispered.

Ietaka walked towards me and placed his hand atop my head, "I am proud of you son, not many Kaizen can say they were able to go through their first partial-major transformation at the age of six."

I smiled tiredly at the tall man, "can we go inside now?"

The Kaizen man chuckled and hoisted my small body into his arms, "of course, your Kaasan will be thrilled at your accomplishment today."

It has been two years since Ietaka returned from his bounty hunting escapade. Ever since he returned, my training time had doubled, it was hard and painful work but the training finally started to bear fruit when I was allowed to learn my very first partial-minor transformation. It started easy enough, changing my nails into claws was easier than I had expected, but I was not prepared for the pain when I was asked to shift actual muscles tissue and bone structures. God the pain back then was unbearable, I had spent nearly all of my chakra learning to shift my hands into large cat paws and so I had to go to sleep with half human and half cat hands, not a fun night.

Ietaka carried me back inside the house that was only marginally cooler than it was outside, all of the windows to the house were opened, and Shio was sitting down on the couch fanning herself with a small hand fan.

The young looking woman turned her gaze towards us as we entered the living room, "you boys done for the day?" She asked.

Ietaka let me down and gave me a small push, "go ahead tell your Kaasan what you did." His tone was stern like he was scolding me.

I picked up on what he was doing fast and looked down at the ground in mock shame, "I didn't mean to," I sniffled for effect.

Shio walked over to us in concerned, she kneeled down in front of me, trying to look at my face and not noticing my arms, "sweetie what did you do?"

I mock sniffled again, "I-I"

She lifted my chin with her hand, "what's wrong?"

"I shifted my arms Kaasan," I reveled with a smile on my face.

Shio stared at me for a second I could practically hear the metaphorical dialup noise as she processed what I just said. Then without warning she stood up and punched Ietaka in the ribs, "how could you scare me like that!" She cried angrily at Ietaka who was doubled up around her fist.

"Because it was funny," Ietaka groaned breathlessly.

The Kaizen woman turned her nose up at her husband who fell on his knees to the ground, "shame on you Ietaka-kun, putting my boy up to trick his Kaasan."

Meanwhile I had side stepped out of the area and was quietly trying to make my way to my room, "and just where do you think you're going young man?" Shio asked.

I turned my head to see Shio standing there with her hands on hips, "uh to sleep," I responded.

Shio shook her head, "no way am I letting you go to your room," she stepped forward and kneeled down in front of me, "without getting a big kiss from your Kaasan!" In an instant I was hoisted up into her arms and my face was barraged with motherly kisses, "I'm so proud of you!" She squealed, hugging me to her chest like a plushy.

She set me down and grabbed my chimp hands into hers, "oh this is wonderful you're first partial-major shift." Shio ran her hands up my now harry arms.

I smiled as well, chimpanzee arms are said to be the easiest partial-major transformation to undergo, hence why it is often chosen to be a Kaizen's first form. It made since as chimps are closest to humans physically so you don't have to worry too much about complications when learning.

"Go take a bath Isamu-chan, I'll have lunch ready then you can take a nap." Shio instructed.

* * *

Dinner was for the most part normal, save for my new ape arms, actually weird things at the dinner table is quite normal so it was in fact fully normal.

"Now Isamu-chan don't go trying other transformation now that you grew the chimp arms." Said Shio who was currently using her claws to stab her pork dinner rather than use chopsticks.

"Your Kaasan is right son, now isn't the time to risk other partial-major transformations like growing a new heart or changing your entire lower body." Ietaka added having already finished his dinner.

I nodded in understanding, I wasn't about to risk changing my internal organs for a long time to come. The difference between mastering partial-minor and partial-major transformation isn't too noticeable at the surface level. A minor would be something like a finger or ear, both are small body parts and not a major bodily function. While a major would be classified by either the amount or size of the body parts shifted or even the importance of the body part that is being changed. Which is why transforming my foot would be considered a partial-minor shift while my pancreas would be a major despite the size difference.

"You should be proud of yourself sweetie, forming the chimpanzee arms is something usually done when you are eight, to accomplish it at six is quite an achievement." Shio praised.

I smiled back at her despite not really feeling that I truly accomplished much, I had over twenty years of life experience to emotionally prepare me for physical pain. If I was mentally six then I would've never have gotten this far in this short amount of time.

"Tomorrow we will be in the smithy all day, the marshal as ordered eight new naginata to be crafted for his guard and I'll need all the help I can get." Informed Ietaka.

I hid my disappointment with a bite of rice, learning the blacksmithing trade was fun, but it was hot and tiring work and right now the last thing I want to think of is sharpen blades and keep a fire going during summer.

"Don't worry Isamu-chan, just think, after work you will train more, and the next day you have tutoring with the Elder, and after that Renjiro will need your help in the stables and after that…"

My mind spaced out, I could see Shio's lips move but I had already left the station, _"so much work."_ I lamented.

* * *

 _Two years later…_

" _Side step duck, side step duck, side ste- shit, dodge!"_ I leaped out of the way just as Ietaka jabbed a bokken towards my abdomen.

"Very good son, now I know I can take it up a notch," The large man grinned.

My eyes widened when he slashed at my head much faster than we had ever practiced before, I had no time to duck but thankfully my own bokken was in position. I raised my wooden sword just in time to block the slash, the force of the blow was so much that I could feel the vibration all the way down the sword and through my arms.

"Don't let yourself be tied up!" Ietaka shouted as he kicked at the back of my knees.

The move caught me off guard and I was sent falling on my back, my head hit the ground and for a split second my vision went white. When my eyes corrected themselves I saw Ietaka looming over me with his bokken pointed at my throat. "Dead."

I smirked, "actually Otosan I say this is a tie."

He was confused for a moment until he felt a small stab from a wooden short sword on his thigh. Ietaka looked down to confirm that my long prehensile tail had snuck its way to a killing blow.

"You were growing that for the entire spar weren't you?" He asked with a proud smirk.

"Maybe," was all the information I gave.

"You're getting too good at tricking me," Ietaka said with a chuckle, holding out his hand to help me up.

I smiled back at him and took the offered hand, "and you haven't even started me on genjustu yet."

Ietaka began to walk back towards the house from our usual training spot under the cherry blossom tree, I followed closely behind. "you certainly have the control for it now, but your Kaasan wants to be the one to teach you that particular art."

"Is she going to be done soon with all those orders?" I asked.

The Kaizen man shook his head, "you know how busy she gets this time of year, the Kyuubi festival in Konoha always brings Niwano good business."

"When is Niwano going to move back to Konoha? Every year she talks about going back but she never does." We entered into the house, at this time in the morning Shio would already be working at the tailoring shop so it was just us.

"Niwano-san probably never will, when you get that age you tend to not want to move very much." Ietaka answered whilst handing me a glass of water.

I quietly gave my thanks and we both drank deeply from the our glasses, "When are we going to start on the greater transformations?"

Ietaka wiped his mustache with a forearm, "your progress with the partial-minor and partial-major is impressive for someone your age. But you are still far too inexperienced to handle the greater transformation, you may be used to changing one or two body parts at a time, however a greater transformation requires you to change all of your body at the same time and mastery only comes when you are able to change into different forms multiple times in a single minute." He explained.

I nodded in understanding, while we do not need to think about every single little cell that is being transformed, doing a shift for the first time does require a lot of concentration, and the very specific modifications that aren't natural to the form you are shifting into takes a good amount of knowledge of biology. For example if I wanted to stay human but have two hearts and four lungs then knowledge on how those organs work would help me to visualize what I wanted which would help my bloodline pick up the slack and do the very specific fiddly bits for me. Which is why I will never, ever-ever- _ever_ , mess with my brain, doctors back home who spent decades specializing in the brain still didn't fully know how everything functioned, so I highly doubt that there will be any valuable knowledge on the brain available in this world.

"But don't you worry when the time comes I will help you with your first greater shift." The large man stated.

That's another thing I learned over the years, a Kaizen can help shift another Kaizen if the one helping has enough chakra and is in physical contact with the other. It was apparently how I was able to shift back to normal for the very first time after I bite that guy's arm all those years ago. "So are we working at the shop today?" I asked.

Ietaka shook his head, "you aren't, Rena needs help with the inn. There have been more people showing up on the way to Konoha and she's swamped"

Moving off the chair I began to make my way towards the front door, "alright I might as well go now."

"Wait," Ietaka called.

I stopped right as I put on my first sandal, "what?"

"Your tail."

I looked back and saw that my tail was indeed still present, "ah almost forgot," with a small pulse of charka sent to my backside I was able to shorten it past the small cut in my pants and eventually make it disappear entirely in just a few seconds. "I'll be back," I called walking out the door.

* * *

I stepped into the streets and the satisfying crunch of leaves beneath my foot greeted my ears, the world around me was covered in vibrant orange and red and yellow leafs. Many of them were already raked and put into the compost pile by me and…well just me actually, I get the jobs no one wants to do or has the time for.

"Good morning," Old lady Oyama greeted as she walked past me on the road. She was around the age of Elder Satoshi but the years seem to do more of a number on her as she was hunched over and couldn't walk without the assistance of a cane.

"Morning," I called back with a smile.

"Good morning!" a woodpecker yelled out from his perch on a nearby tree.

"Hey Eizan, find anything yet?" I asked towards the bird.

"They're stubborn today but I almost got one," he called down.

"Well keep trying, good luck." I bade farewell to the hungry avian.

"HI Isamu," A pack of rabbits greeted as they crossed the road, to which I just gave a small wave.

"Hey little man!" A voice called from behind me. I turned around to see a young man in his upper twenties, he had a thin mustache strait black hair that fell to his shoulders and was wearing a furred vest and pants.

"Morning Renjiro-san," I greeted.

"Hey you aren't doing anything right now by any chance right?" He asked casually.

"I'm helping your sister at the inn today."

"Pssh Rena-chan can handle herself, what I need done is important." Renjiro waved his arm in dismissal.

"I don't know, from what I heard it's pretty crowded today, she might even rope you into helping." I said with a side glance towards the young man.

Renjiro frowned, "Kami I hope not, I hate working at the inn."

"What cleaning up sake stains and vomit not your thing?" I asked with dripping sarcasm.

He ruffled my hair with his fist, "see even you don't want to, that's why you should come and help me today."

I grabbed his fist and squeezed, "Or," I began, pulling his hand away from my head, "I could not do that and avoid getting an earful from your sister and my Kaasan."

Renjiro grimaced as I let go of his hand, "damn kid you have a strong grip." He said, cradling his hand.

"Black smith's son remember," was my excuse.

"Alright fine, but head over to the stables if Rena-chan was over exaggerating." With that he jogged ahead and turned the corner towards the stables.

"Jack ass always trying to get me to do his job for him," I mumbled. Renjiro was a good guy, just not the most responsible.

Soon Rena's Rest was in sight, the door opened and out spilled the sound of jovial voices and the clattering of plates along with the smell of smoke and cooked meats. Walking out of the opened door was the local charcoal burner. "Morning Juzo-san," I greeted.

Juzo was a man in his mid-thirties with matted black hair and an unkempt beard, "g-gmornig little smith," he slurred. Juzo was also one of the village drunks, a fact that Ietaka uses to his advantage by doing business with him only when Juzo is on one of his many benders.

I passed the drunk who by now was sat down with his back against the inn, _"I'll probably have to get the broom to chase him away again,"_ I thought.

When I entered, the obvious need for my help became apparent, there was over thirty people sitting around tables and the bar and that wasn't even counting the Tanpo natives. "Isamu-kun over here!" Rena shouted over the noise.

Rena was in her element, her experienced hands deftly filled cups of sake in seconds whilst also listing to orders for the next drink or meal. "I'm here, what needs to be done." I said getting behind the bar.

I was handed a tray with three plates of pork, rice, and bread with three glasses of water. "Table by the window go," Rena ordered without looking at me.

I knew what she meant immediately, there were many windows in the establishment but what she really meant is, 'table by the only window that will actually open.' Ietaka had been meaning to fix that but it's not quite a priority at the moment.

I walked to the table where three men with road weary brown cloaks were sitting, "here you go, enjoy the meal." I said, getting onto the tips of my toes to set the tray atop the table. The men nodded in acknowledgment.

Another table looked like it needed to be cleared, "you need this out of your way?" I asked a portly man sitting alone.

"Of course, thank you young man." The stranger thanked with a nod of his head making all three of his chins jiggle.

After I was done with the plates Rena called to me, "yes?" I asked.

The young woman inclined her head towards one of the darker corners of the inn, "they just walked in, get their order for me please."

A strange feeling tickled at the back of my neck as I moved closer to the people seated at the far side of the inn. There were four people wearing plane beige gi and long baggy black pants, one of them was a man who had spiky gray hair and a casual smile on his face. Another was a woman who wore her light blue hair into a ponytail and red lipstick, the third figure was a thin person who's gender wasn't quite apparent under the hood that shadowed their face. The last was another man, by far the largest out of the four, who had a bald head and ripped muscles.

I swallowed my sudden apprehension and greeted the guests with a smile. "Good morning what can I get you?"

"We'll just have the soup of the day," the hooded person butted in before anyone else could speak. Despite them talking I still couldn't tell if it was a man or woman under the hood with how horse their voice sounded.

"Alright any drinks?" I asked.

"Water," The hooded person answered for the group again.

"Coming right up," I quickly turned around and walked away. "Four soups and waters," I informed Rena when I got close.

"Can you handle that, I'm a little busy," She asked, her arms full of empty bowls and plates.

I nodded and made my way to the kitchen, the big cauldron of soup was over a low burning fire, from the smell it was some sort of garlic and chicken soup with what looked like mushrooms. I poured the filled ladle of soup into bowls and put them atop a nearby tray, with balance that belied my physical age I carefully maneuvered around the crowd and made it to the table with not a drop spilled.

My arrival stopped whatever quite conversation that was going on and the gray haired man gave me a side glare that shook my spine. "I'll get your waters," I said, doing everything to not stutter at the strange vibe the group was giving off.

The feeling persisted as I walked away, with a subtle application of charka to my ears, my hearing became much more sensitive. I wouldn't risk a partial shift out in public like this so the normal chakra enhanced hearing would have to do.

"I don't like being this close to Konoha, their Ninja come through here too much," The deep voice of what I assumed to be the bald man stated.

"Well put up with it, the closer to a Ninja village we are the higher chance we will find a clan bastard that no one will miss." I heard the woman retort.

"Shh," the raspy voice of the hooded one quieted.

"what is it?" The last voice asked, this one having a distinctive slur to his voice that told me the speaker was from the east coast of the Land of Fire.

"A heart beat just quickened," the raspy voice replied, "that boy over there."

" _Oh shit,"_ I thought, as subtly as I dared I picked up the pace towards the kitchen. _"Nope, nope, nope, have to leave."_ As soon as I was out of line of sight from the dining area I bolted out the back door.

" _Run, run, run!"_ I willed my legs to quicken as much as I dared, unconsciously pumping chakra into them to hasten my sprint.

In seconds Ietaka's shop came within sight, suddenly I felt the air knocked out of me and I landed on my back onto the leaf covered ground. My vision swam briefly as I tried to get air back into my lungs, "we don't appreciate being spied on boy." The gray haired man loomed over me.

"Now don't cause a scene and tell me what you heard or else I might break a bone," He sneered.

" _Oh fuck, Oh fuck,"_ I tried to speak but my breath came out in gasps.

"You knocked the air out of him idiot, he won't be able to talk for a few minutes." The large bald man stepped into my peripheral.

"Whatever, go get Guren she's supposed to be good with kids." The shorter man ordered.

" _That name sounds familiar, why does it sound familiar?"_ I wondered dizzily while still gasping for breath on the ground.

I felt myself be picked up by the collar of my shirt and taken behind a nearby building that I recognized to be Old lady Oyama's house. In a moment I was sat against a stump of a tree and my captor put his foot on my left knee. "we'll ask you again when my friend gets over here, but if you don't answer her," he put presser on my knee, "well you won't like it."

" _What the fuck is with these guys, threatening a kid_?"I thought in anger.

A moment later the bald man came back with the blue haired woman, she smiled in a way that should've been disarming and kneeled down next to me. "Can you talk now?" She asked.

There was no chance of escape, these guys were faster than I was even after all of my training, meaning they were Ninja, and as I am now, I don't stand a snowball's chance in hell. I nodded, deciding that compliance for now would be the safest option.

The woman, Guren, kept her gentle smile, "that's good, now will you please tell me what you heard?" One of her long fingernails gently grazed down my cheek and stopped when it reached my neck.

"J-Just something about clan bastards and not wanting to be close to Konoha," I croaked, my mouth suddenly becoming very dry.

Guren giggled, "that's good, now why would you run away when you heard that?" A second fingernail grazed my cheek and stopped to join the first at poking against my neck.

I saw an opportunity for escape, "T-there's someone in the village t-that's part Uchiha." I lied.

Guren's smile widened, "oh really, and do they work in the smith, is that why you were running to there?" A third finger brushed my cheek again.

I swallowed hard, "Yes," I really hopped they would take the bait.

"Take me to them," Guren ordered pulling me to my feet by the chin. She pushed me forward and I walked along, "no funny business, if you start to run then bad things will happen to you and this village." She threatened.

I walked forward as casually as I could, a nervous sweat was beginning to drip from my brow. From my side I could see the fourth stranger, the one with the hood, caught up to us. Now there was the bald man to my right, hood on my left, and Guren and gray hair behind me. A quick glance of purple caught my eye, I wasn't able to notice it before but the hooded figure was wearing a purple rope around their waist. I glanced to my right and saw that the bald man was wearing the same purple rope. _  
"I'm a complete idiot, beige cloths purple ropes, how could I forget one of the only interesting fillers."_ This situation just got so much worse than I thought it was.

We made it to the smithy, I could hear Ietaka hammering away at his anvil, Guren nudged me again, "go ahead, show us the Uchiha." She ordered.

I knocked at the door, I never knock on the door.

The hammer stopped, Ietaka opened the door and looked down at me. All it took was a single look, "You were supposed to come with more logs," He said, we don't use logs.

"Renjiro said he'd bring it here for me on the way to Rena's," I answered back, Renjiro would never go out of his way to do more work.

"I see," he stepped back and opened the door, the bald man moved past me and made to rush inside the smithy, he got a blade in the heart instead.

Time seemed to slow as the Ninja around me were caught completely off guard from Ietaka's surprise attack. I took the second of hesitation to duck out of the way just in time to avoid Guren and gray hair answering back with a rain of shrunken.

I hit the ground face first and heard a bloody scream from above me, without taking a look back I crawled my way along the walls of the smithy, trying to keep as low as possible. I heard what sounded like the grinding of glass on glass from behind me, I glanced over my shoulder to see Ietaka dodge a pink crystal spike that had just grown form the earth.

I didn't risk more dawdling for I had one goal, get to Shio.

* * *

The sounds of clashing steal on steal and brief explosions rang out from the streets behind me, people were coming out of their home in confusion. "Foreign Ninja, foreign Ninja!" I shouted down the street.

The faces of the residence of Tanpo went white as their worst fears had come to pass, "everyone get to the road, Konoha is our only chance!" I heard Renjiro shout, I couldn't help but smirk at seeing him commandeering one of the horses he was meant to keep in the stables.

The people within earshot looked to Renjiro in surprise, "you heard me, Ietaka-san is holding them off the best he can, get off your asses and run!" The normally lazy young man commanded with an authority that I did not know he was capable of. "Isamu, where are you going?!" He yelled at seeing me running the opposite direction.

"I have to get Kaasan don't try to stop me!" I yelled back.

I didn't give Renjiro a second glance as I turned the corner and onto the small road that had Niwano Nishi's tailoring. I ran in a dead sprint towards the door and burst open with a loud thud, startling the women inside.

Shio stood from her chair in confusion, "Isamu-chan ?" Her ear twitched slightly as the sounds of battle bleed into the shop from the outside.

"Ninja," I breathed between gasps of air.

Shio understood immediately, "ladies we have to go now!" The other women in the shop looked around in worry and confusion.

"What's going on Shio-san?" One woman in a yellow dress and black hair tied into a bun asked. Hana her name was.

"We're being attacked, get Niwano-san and find some place safe." Shio ordered as she stepped outside and narrowed her eyes towards the sounds of battle.

"And what are you going to do?" Another woman in a red dress and short brown hair stepped forward, her name was Aimi, Oyama's daughter.

Shio grabbed at her blue dress and tore it with a clawed hand, cutting the long skirt in half, "protecting my own." In a blink she was gone in a dead sprint, I just barely was able to make out her body leaning forwards and arms outstretched behind her.

* * *

" _These assholes."_ Ietaka thought as he dodged a hail of sharp crystals and kunai.

His home for the past eight years was partially in ruin, his smithy that helped feed his family had a crystal twice its size crush it into dust just a few moments ago. The street he heard his son's first words was broken with fissures, and the inn that he spent many a night drinking after a long's day of work was on fire.

These Ninja came out of nowhere and threatened his son and destroyed his village, Ietaka raised his bloody Katana and charged at the spiky haired man, they were all going to die for this.

The gray haired man just barely dodged out of the way and retaliated with a jab to Ietaka's side. The stranger made contact with his ribs and there was a satisfying crunch as the first impacted. Ietaka smirked as the man pulled his broken hand away, "how can you take that punch!" He yelled while dodging another slash from the Kaizen's katana.

"You're a century too early to make me sweat." Ietaka declared.

"Care to reiterate that?" A raspy voice sounded from behind him, Ietaka looked just in time to see the hooded one holding a hand sign.

Ietaka's body was suddenly paralyzed, _"what?!"_ his eyes followed a dark line of shadow from him all the way towards the shadow of the hooded man, "a Nara?!" The Kaizen man said between his gritted teeth.

"Something like that," the hooded figure replied.

"Guren now!" The grey haired man shouted.

The Kaizen man watched as a large crystal grew out of the ground from an angle, its sharp tip poised to stab through his skull. He closed his eyes, _"Forgive me Mikasa-chan_." He prayed.

The sound of glass shattering opened his eyes again, and the sight before him brought a smirk to his face. Shio was standing in front of him with an aura of lighting licking around her form, she looked over her shoulder toward the hooded person with eyes glowing blue, "Get the fuck away from my husband."

Before the eye could blink the hooded figure found a clawed hand piercing through their stomach, a horrid feeling of the Kaizen woman pushing her arm though their abdomen and up into their chest made them cry out In pain. With a grunt Shio ripped her arm out of the person, holding their bloody diaphragm in her claw.

Guren's eyes widened at the display of violence, "I have to leave," She whispered.

The grey haired man stepped forward in front of his leader, "Guren get out of here, you have to report to Orochimaru-sama."

The woman nodded, "I'll come back with reinforcements." Guren jumped away towards the north. But her escape was cut off by a very angry mother still covered in a coat of lighting.

"No you don't!" Shio shouted, raising her claws as she leaped towards the retreating woman.

Guren blurred through hand signs and called upon her bloodline to protect her, making a two foot thick wall of crystal between her. The act gave her just enough time to duck out of the way as Shio smashed through the barrier with ease.

"You come to my home," Shio stomped towards the blue haired woman who was desperately shooting shard after shard of crystals at the Kaizen woman which she batted away with ease. "You attack my husband," She smashed a boulder of crystal which shattered into a million pieces, her lighting cloak reflecting off the shards. "You hurt my son!" Guren had no chance to dodge as Shio appeared in front of her and grasped her throat with one of her claws.

"I'm tired of this," Shio lifted the woman up over her head. "For ninety years I have been on the run from people like you, people who want to use me and my family for the gifts we were born with. I am tired of my family dying to trash like you, no more, no more!"

Snap

Guren's head went limp in Shio's claw, the Kaizen dropped the woman in disgust and left her in the dirt.

Shio turned just in time to see eight Ietaka impaling the grey haired man with their swords though the chest, arms, legs, and head. The woman walked forward, the lightning cloak disappearing with each step.

Ietaka dismissed his clones and they fell away into mud. He approached his wife just in time to catch her from falling, "you used the cloak for too long," he chuckled.

Shio smiled up at him and closed her eyes in exhaustion.

Ietaka held his wife in his arms and looked around his village, many homes were too damaged to be lived in anymore, the inn was still on fire but he was able to spot Rena getting her customers out the back door, he hopped that there were no casualties from this fight.

* * *

I carefully crawled my way out of a little hidey hole just outside of the village. I had waited a few minutes after the noise of the fighting stopped and the anxious feeling of not knowing what happened had gotten to me.

I used charka to keep my feet from making any noise and quietly crouch walked towards where I saw Ietaka last. The damage was little on the outside of the village, I saw a few shattered windows and the thin paper walls of the more traditional houses were ripped but that was about it. But the same couldn't be said for the center, the houses that were not wreaked by large pink crystals were either currently on fire or about to catch fire.

I knew it was not smart to remain here with the amount of smoke in the air so I began to pick up the pace, I felt a strong urge to call out to Shio and Ietaka but a didn't dare to if Orochimaru's lackeys were still around.

The sound of footsteps made my heart race, I went prone on the floor and tried to pulled leafs over myself in an attempt to hide. The footsteps grew louder, and I stilled, the person walking sounded to be almost right over me so I held my breath.

"You almost had it, but I can see your foot sticking out," I heard Ietaka say.

Relief flooded me as I stood up and ran towards the man, "You're okay," I hugged his leg.

Ietaka chuckled at my rare show of affection, "I'm glad to see you alright too."

I looked up and saw Shio in Ietaka's arms and all color drained from my face, "Kaasan?" I asked.

"Don't worry son she just has a bit of chakra exhaustion." Ietaka assured.

I felt like I was going to have a heart attack with this emotional roller coaster. "What do we do now?" I asked, looking around the burning vi-my burning home.

"We get to the house and grab anything of value, after that we have to move on." Said the large man as he walked towards home while I followed close behind.

We made it to the house in a few minutes, luckily the fires hadn't spread here yet thanks to the wind blowing in the opposite direction. "Get your stuff and go bring it to me and I'll store it in a scroll," Ietaka ordered.

I ran to my room without another word, _"right get the essentials,"_ I told myself. I looked around quickly and spotted my drawer, the shelves were thrown open in a second and I grabbed as much cloths as I could fit in my hands. I ran out my room and placed my cloths onto the couch next to Shio who was still asleep. I ran back into my room to see if I missed anything, I spotted my duduk on the nightstand and grabbed it, next to my duduk was a picture of all three of us when we visited Konoha again last year, I grabbed it too then bolted out the room.

I saw Ietaka sealing up my cloths into a small scroll, "give me what you want sealed now, we are leaving in thirty seconds." He ordered.

I handed him the picture and my duduk, he sealed them with barely a glance.

"Here you're in charge of this," Ietaka shoved a backpack full of scrolls into my arms. "Follow me," he picked up Shio and marched towards the kitchen and out the back door.

I looked back towards the house that I have spent eight years living in, after all that time I hadn't dared call it my home. It didn't feel right, like I was denying my roots, but now, seeing it about to be destroyed by the encroaching flames, I've realized how stupid I was. _"You never appreciate something until its gone."_

"Isamu, Isamu!" Ietaka's yell brought me back to the moment. "Pay attention, we have to go, people saw what I and Shio were able to do and they'll tell the Konoha Ninja when they come and investigate. We have to put as much distance between here and us as possible, so that means we can only travel the Kaizen way."

He placed Shio on the ground and walked a few paces away, in a few second Ietaka's clothes ripped as his body expanded and transformed before my eyes. Now where once was a man stood a raptor that was much larger than any I had ever seen, "grab your Kaasan and get on, I'm counting on you to hold her and you up."

I put my arms under Shio's back and thighs and gave a heave, I blinked in surprise at realizing she was much lighter than I expected. With a running leap I just barely managed to land on the back of the large Ietaka bird, using chakra to keep stable. "We're on!" I shouted.

With a large flap of his winds Ietaka pushed up, throwing leaves and dirt up into the air. Higher and higher we climbed. As we ascended higher into the air, I looked back at my burning home my eyes catching a glimpse of the cherry blossom tree before smoke obscured it from view.

* * *

 **So not a long time skip I will admit, but the ball is starting to roll. Next chapter will be amongst the last of the intro arch and longer than this chapter.**

 **For all none of you who were wondering, yes I was listening to immigrant song when I wrote Shio showing up with a lighting cloak I couldn't help myself. Also for the none of you keeping count that is two whole chapters without a single Star Wars reference, which is a surprise to be sure but a welcome one…Wait shit!**

 **Anyway thanks for all of the follow and reviews and favorites. You guys are always the best, I hope this chapter finds you all well!**


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